Sympathy
by PolarOpposites
Summary: Humiliated, she left behind her entire life and their sham marriage. A year later, they've come face to face again, and as their worlds begin to spin madly out of control, they might just realize how thin the line between love and hate really is...
1. Chapter 1

_Stranger than your sympathy  
and this is my apology  
I killed myself from the inside out  
and all my fears have pushed you out..._

Lucas Scott and Brooke Davis were trapped in a miserable marriage. They didn't love each other, they didn't connect. He thought she was your typical boring, prim, proper society girl, and she thought he was just like every other cheating man from upper class Tree Hill. Forced together because of an important business merger for both their families, Lucas gets increasingly unhappy and divorces Brooke, announcing it to her in front of the entire town, and leaving her embarrassed and angry. Unable to handle the embarrassment, Brooke leaves Tree Hill.

It's been a whole year and nobody except for her parents have heard from her. Lucas has gone back to his partying life style, and is enjoying himself, completely having forgotten about Brooke. But when a business trip to Italy and a chance meeting leads him to her, he realizes letting her go might have been the biggest mistake of his life…


	2. Prologue Broken

**Epilogue: Broken**

_The broken clock is a comfort, it helps me sleep tonight  
Maybe it can stop tomorrow from stealing all my time  
I am here still waiting though I still have my doubts  
I am damaged at best, like you've already figured out_

July 12, 2006.

Trapped in a miserable marriage.

The story of Lucas Scott's life. Six months ago he had been bound to Brooke Davis legally, at a beautiful wedding in the most elegant church in Tree Hill. The wedding had been a large and elegant one, full of family, friends, business associates, and acquaintances. The honeymoon had been in the Dominican Republic, the perfect place for lovers.

Too bad that was _far_ from what Brooke and him were.

If Lucas had had any say in the decision he would've objected without a second thought. Sure, Brooke was nice and all, but they had never said more than three words to each other. They weren't friends, and they only saw each other at stuffy parties, or other public events. Occasionally they would go out together with the mutual friends they shared, but nothing more. Lucas wasn't attracted to Brooke at all either. She was too stiff. She did everything a perfect "lady" should do. And she dressed as if she was 40 years old.

Unfortunately he hadn't had a say, and even with days of arguing with his parents, he had been forced into it. Scott Corp. was a huge name in America, and growing all over the world, they had restaurants, casinos, and hotels everywhere. Even with all the success of these chains, financial problems had arised and it seemed like Scott Corp. would be going bankrupt. There didn't seem to be a solution to the mess, but Davis Inc. soon saw a steady decrease of income, and was also having financial problems of their own. They owned a huge chain of hotels and restaurants all over the world as well. So eventually, the two families decided to merge the companies, and to do so they used Brooke and Lucas as their puppets and bound them in holy matrimony. He knew his mother and father, Dan and Karen Scott, had spent their entire lives starting that business and even though he was only 22 and normally the one who rebelled, he decided this was in the best interests of his family.

So today, he sat in his big fancy office overlooking the small town of Tree Hill, where Scott Corp. as well as Davis Inc. had been founded. He looked at the clock and groaned, it was already 3 pm, and he had a lot of work to do.

"Donna, could you step into my office for a minute?", he said through the intercom to his secretary. Just under a minute later, Donna walked in. She was about 5'5, medium length platinum blonde hair, great legs, and breasts that could make any man's mouth water. They looked particularly good today in a v-neck top that had a daring cleavage line.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Scott?" she replied with a seductive smile.

"Fax these papers over to Mr. Jagelski, and ask him to fill them out," he said, handing her a folder full of documents.

"Yes sir, I'll do that right away." She said, turning around to leave.

"Oh, and Donna," started Lucas with a coy smile. "I'm going to need you to stay late today, if that's not a problem."

"No problem at all Mr. Scott," she replied, biting her lip.

xxxxx

Elsewhere at the Country Club, Brooke was hanging out with Theresa, and Bevin. They had just finished shopping, and were completely wiped out.

"So then, David bought me a diamond necklace. It was beautiful, 24 carats!" Theresa gushed on about her anniversary present.

"That's so sweet. Adrian took me to Paris, and our hotel had the most perfect view of the Eiffel tower, "added Bevin.

"That is so romantic!" Theresa exclaimed excitedly.

Brooke smiled and nodded, zoning out of the conversation quickly and excusing herself to use the ladies room. The truth was she couldn't relate to it at all. From the outside in, her marriage to Lucas seemed perfect. They had graduated from the best schools, grown up with the most luxurious lifestyles, and come from outstanding families. Lucas had been the guy ever girl had dreamed of dating back in high school, while Brooke kept to herself, but defiantly wasn't unattractive.

On the inside however, it was the farthest thing from perfect. Lucas didn't love Brooke, and Brooke didn't love Lucas. They put on an act when out, but it never stuck when the two of them were alone together. Even right after their wedding on their honeymoon, they had both gone off and done their own thing. Brooke even remembered Lucas bringing back a few different girls.

At first, she hadn't cared too much, thinking eventually they would begin to like each other and things would get better. But the opposite effect seemed to be happening. The longer they were together the worse. Lucas barely ever acknowledged Brooke's presence when they were alone, unless he was yelling at her for something. She was surprised they even shared a bed, one of the few couple-like things they did.

She tried to remember that this is what was best for her family. Her father, Brent, and her mother, Victoria, had spent years trying to make Davis Inc. a household name, and she wasn't going to jeopardize that, even if it meant putting her own happiness at stake. Even so it was becoming increasingly hard to pretend, and with every passing day she felt herself falling deeper and deeper into an unhappy turmoil.

All of her girlfriends that were married, Bevin, Theresa, Lindsay, and others, bragged about the gifts and the kind gestures their husbands did for them. Lucas hadn't even said "Happy Birthday" to Brooke on her birthday.

As she studied her appearance in the mirror, she couldn't help but feel...unhappy. She was wearing a cute white dress that went right below her knees, and a pink cardigan, a pair of elegant pearls rested on each ear, and her make-up was done to perfection. Her hair was pinned up neatly, and she looked lady-like, but she felt trapped, stuck in this person that she wasn't sure she wanted to be. Trapped in a marriage she _knew_ she didn't want to be in.

She sighed and re-applied her lipstick, forcing a smile, and heading back to their table.

xxxxx

Lucas groaned as he pulled off Danna's shirt and fondled with her breast, while she tried to unbuckle the belt on his pants and pull them off. She groaned as he slipped his tongue into her month. He pulled her up on top of his desk, clearing everything to the side, as he removed her skirt and panties. Just as things were about to get good, Lucas' phone began to ring. They quickly broke apart and Lucas went to see who it was, his caller idea read "_Brooke"_. He cursed silently.

"Hello," he answered, deciding this would be best in case she decided to call again, or worse, show up at his office.

"Hey, it's 10:30, when are you getting home?" She asked on the other end.

"Whenever all the work is done, there's a lot to do," he replied coldly.

"You've been at it since 7 am! And we promised the Dowding's we would have dinner with them tonight, but of course, as always I had to _cancel_, because you were too _busy_!" she exclaimed angrily.

"Whatever, I don't have time for this right now." He said, hanging up and turning off his phone.

He turned back to Donna with a playful look on his face; she licked her lips seductively, still sitting on his desk, fully naked.

"Now, where were we?" he asked, heading back over to her.

xxxxx

Lucas walked into the house and slammed shut the door, not bothering to be quiet in case Brooke was sleeping. He quickly went upstairs and undressed, heading into the shower and letting the warm water untighten his aching muscles. He quickly finished up and headed back into their bedroom. He looked at the alarm clock: 1:30 am.

Not bad, compared to last week when he'd gone out to a club with Tim and not arrived home until 3 in the morning. Brooke had been pissed, but luckily tonight she was sound asleep. He quickly crawled into the covers, finding it hard to go to sleep knowing that this was going to be the rest of his life. Sneaking around, cheating, being married to someone he didn't love.

On the other side of the bed, Brooke lay awake, being careful not to make any noise or any sort of indication to make Lucas think she was still awake. She didn't want to deal with him right now. She sighed quietly as a single tear escaped down her cheek. She thought back to a time when she had been this unhappy, but none came to mind.

Looking at the alarm clock beside her that read 1:30, she closed her eyes and tried to doze off, she was going to have to get used to it; this was going to be every other day for the rest of her life.

xxxx

So that was my first chapter! Please give me HONEST reviews, I know this isn't amazing, I'll defiantly be improving, it's just my first chapter, but I would LOVE suggestions/tips/etc. I really do hope you like it! And the chapter was inspired by "Broken"-Lifehouse.


	3. The Best Deceptions

**Chapter One:  
The Best Deceptions**

_  
Don't you see, don't you see, that the charade is over?  
And all the "Best Deceptions" and "Clever Cover Story" awards go to you.  
So kiss me hard 'cause this will be the last time that I let you.  
You will be back someday and this awkward kiss that tells of other people's lips will be of service to keeping you away.  
-Dashboard Confessional_

**January 13, 2008 (One year & Seven Months later)**

The music was booming through New York's hottest new club "Metric", and the place was in full swing. There were sweaty bodies grinding on the dance floor, people making out in booths, and a few drunk underage slutty teen girls that had used fake ID's to get in and were looking for a layover.

Lucas, Skills, Jake, and Tim were all sitting in a VIP area, admiring the view of the group of girls at the table a few away from them.  
"So who's it going to be tonight, Lucas?" Skills asked, laughing.  
"What do you mean?", Lucas asked, knowing full well what he meant, but playing dumb.  
"Oh come on, you've been going home with a new girl every night for the past two weeks we've been here," added Jake.  
"Since this is our last night, you better make this one good," Tim advised.

Lucas scanned the crowd, and his eyes immediately rested on a bubbly blonde that was grinding with one of her friends on the dance floor, he licked his lips. Jake, Skills, and Tim, seeing where this was going, began to laugh. Lucas looked over at them and gave them a knowing smile as he began to walk over to the dance floor. A drunken girl immediately latched onto him and they began to grind, as they made their way farther and farther into the crowd, and closer to the blonde. Soon, the girl that he had been grinding on him found someone else, and he made his way up behind the blonde and began grinding with her.

She turned around and a small smile played on her lips as they allowed the music to take over, her hands brushed the back of his head as she moved her arms around his neck. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear.  
"Jennifer Raymond," she said hoarsely.  
"Lucas Scott," he replied, letting his lips rest on her ear for a second, he felt her shudder beside him.

Jennifer grabbed his hand and led him to the bar, sitting on the quieter side, Lucas noticed. The bartender made his way over to them and smiled appreciatively at Jennifer.  
"What can I do for you two?" he asked.  
"We'll have two shots of vodka, and keep them coming." Lucas budded in before Jennifer could say anything.  
The waiter brought them their shots and Lucas took his, letting the alcohol burn in his throat.  
"So, you live around here?" Lucas asked.  
"Nah, I'm on vacation. I'm from Seattle." She replied. "How about you?"  
"Business. I'm from North Carolina." He answered her question, being careful not to give too much away. She seemed to out of it to put anything together anyway.  
"Anyway, less talking more drinking," she replied coyly as she took another shot, almost reading Lucas' mind.  
Ten shots later, Jennifer was drunk, while Lucas was still getting there. She climbed onto his lap and began to nip at his neck causing him to bite back a moan. She moved up and began kissing him, slipping her tongue in his mouth allowing him to taste the vodka. She moaned into his mouth. Lucas quickly pulled apart before he took her right then and there.  
"Give me a minute," he whispered, walking over to where Tim, Skills, and Jake were sitting. The three who had seen the whole encounter between Lucas and the blonde, pretended they hadn't paid any attention.

"I'm going back to the Hotel, you guys do whatever you want, and I'll see you tomorrow." Lucas said, ignoring the clearly amused looks on their faces.  
"See ya," replied Tim.  
"Damn dawg," said Skills.  
"Condoms," said Jake.  
All four of them laughed, and Lucas walked back over to the bar, where Jennifer was sitting.

"My hotel or yours?" he asked, a co cky smile playing at his lips.  
"Depends which ones closer," she replied.  
"Mine's just down the street." He said quickly.  
"Yours it is then lead the way," she giggled, moving to the side to let him pass through.

He moved past her and they left the club, hand in hand. Lucas smiled at Jennifer, who smiled back. This was exactly the type of girl had pursued, easy. He was going to get her in the sack, and he knew nothing more about her then her name, and where she was from. He knew tomorrow morning he'd leave before she got up, and probably not even remember her name, but that was normal for Lucas Scott.

In the past year he'd slept with so many different woman, his head hurt thinking about it. He wasn't looking to settle down, especially since the last time he was bound to someone, he had been miserable beyond belief.

He was young, attractive, and rich, and he intended to make full use of it, even if it meant taking advantage of other people. Not that it was difficult, girls fell at his feet, and even though his mother, Karen encouraged him to find a relationship, Lucas didn't see himself as a one-woman man. He never had been, even when he was married.

As Jennifer and him made their way up to his suite, she began sucking on his earlobe, suddenly making his pants feel all too tight. He unlocked the door and Jennifer immediately let him take charge. He pulled her up against the door and began kissing her neck, leaving his mark, she moaned loudly trying to take off his shirt whilst he tried taking off her pants.

She pulled away from Lucas and made her way over to his bed, lying down and luring Lucas over with her finger seductively. He removed the rest of his clothing and joined her. Without a single worry in mind, after all, this was completely normal for Lucas Scott.

xxxxx


	4. Author's Note

Hey guys!

I'm Tori. I'm a regular poster at othforums, if you use the site, and I post my fan fiction there regularly, however I haven't been updating here. I am going to add ALL of the chapters now, so you guys can be all caught up when I update regularly.

I'm looking forward to the reviews and whatnot I'll be getting, I LOVE THEM! Positive, negative, whatever, it's great for me, the first few chapters are VERY slow, I'm sorry, I'm trying to get into the swing of things with this story.


	5. Stop and Stare

**Chapter Three:**

**Stop & Stare**

_This town is colder now, I think it's sick of us  
It's time to make our move, I'm shakin off the rust  
I've got my heart set on anywhere but here  
I'm staring down myself, counting up the years  
Steady hands, just take the wheel...  
And every glance is killing me  
Time to make one last appeal... for the life I lead  
-One Republic_

xxxxx

Lucas sighed and took a sip of his coffee, trying his hardest to stay awake and pay attention to whatever his father's assistant was rambling on about. He was exhausted, their flight from New York had been delayed, so they'd spent the entire night at the airport, and when they had finally arrived back in Tree Hill, Haley had called to inform them of the sudden "emergency" meeting they all had to attend.

He looked around at the people sitting in the boardroom this morning. His brother and good friend, Nathan was sitting to his left. Lucas and Nathan had always been close, and Lucas knew his brother would always be there, just like he had been when they were younger, bailing Lucas out of trouble whenever necessary. Beside Nathan was Haley, Lucas' best friend for as long as he could remember. Haley was beautiful; she had short auburn hair, big brown eyes, and a warm smile. She was one of the few people Lucas knew he could always confined in. Beside her was Jake, he was one of Lucas' close friends, and the two had grown up together, Jake's parents were both A-list actors, but he had instead chosen to follow the path of business. Lucas considered Jake a brother, and the two had been inseparable ever since childhood, along with Skills Tanner and Tim Smith, who were sitting to Jake's left. At the end of the other side, were Dan and Karen Scott., father and mother of Lucas and Nathan. Even with the business and all their other responsibilities, both Dan and Karen had always made time for their children, giving them all the attention, and care that they needed. They weren't easy on them though, they had extremely high expectations, and both Nathan and Lucas were expected to reach them.

"With a fall in sales for both the Vegas resort, as well as the New York one, we are having some major trouble. We already had design plans ready for the new resort in Rome, Italy, but the construction was not going to begin until early next year. We've decided to push it up to begin next week." Said Olivia, Dan's assistant.

"_Next wee_k?", Haley exclaimed, while everyone else had shocked looks on their faces. They had known they would be going to Italy to supervise the construction, and handle the paperwork, but they had no idea it would be pushed up this soon.

"Yes, next week. And we are going to need all of you to fly to Italy, and do what you were originally supposed to be doing next year," replied Karen calmly.

That was something Lucas loved about his mother, her ability to be calm and graceful in situations where most people would be freaking out. Lucas and Nathan had both always looked to her for reassurance, and she had always given it. Karen Scott was a successful woman, and her ability to make anyone think everything, was one of the keys to her success.

"When are we flying out?" Jake asked.

"You will be flying out in two days, your tickets have been booked and we have arranged your accommodations. I'm sorry this is such short notice, but we really didn't decide on it until two or three days ago ourselves." Dan explained.

"There are a series of meetings you will be attending the day after you arrive, so I suggest you all get as much sleep as you can these next two days, and sleep on the plane, because I can assure you that you'll need it." Karen advised, and everyone nodded.

"Now, does anyone have any questions? Asked Olivia, but everyone knew exactly what the plan was. "Okay, you can all go, just be ready and packed for 9 am Wednesday morning, you're flight is leaving at 12:30 promptly."

After saying goodbye to their parents, they headed out, Nathan and Haley came back to Lucas' place with him.

"I can't believe we're going to Rome the day after tomorrow!" exclaimed Haley, her face forming a warm smile. "I'm excited."

"I am too. But remember, this is a business trip, there's a lot of work to do. And Scott Corp. hasn't been doing that well since they split from Davis Inc." explained Nathan, making sure his wife didn't think this was just for fun.

"I know sweetie, I'm just saying." She said, giving her husband a peck on the lips.

"Guys please, you promised you wouldn't do the whole lovey dovey crap in front of me." Lucas said.

The truth was, even though Lucas didn't always act like it, he really liked that his best friend and brother had gotten married. Ever since they were little Nathan and Haley had always been there, they represented hope to him. Hope that there was love out there. Lucas envied the way Nathan always had Haley to go to when times got tough, they were each others rock. Even though Lucas had Skills, Tim, Jake, Haley, and Nathan, he hoped that someday he would have someone he could share his most intimate secrets with, who would give him the sort of unconditional love that Haley gave Nathan.

"Sorry Luke," both Haley and Nathan giggled, knowing full well they were annoying the blonde. "So I hope you know what to pack." She added in.

"Well I was planning to just throw in whatever," he replied.

Haley gave him a weird look, and Lucas knew that was not what she wanted to hear.

"Lucas Scott! This is an important trip, and you can't just throw in "whatever, let's go, I'll pack your stuff for you." She said, dragging him up and towards his bedroom. "Nathan, are you coming?".

"No honey, I'm just going to watch highlights from yesterday's game. Have fun Lucas," Nathan laughed, winking at his brother.

Lucas rested on his bed, as Haley began pulling suits and shoes out of his closet and putting them into his suitcase.

"Haley, I really don't understand why I need seven pairs of shoes, one or two would be fine." He tried to reason with his best friend.

"Shush Lucas, just let me do this myself." She replied, shuffling through his closet, as she looked for his good cologne, a stack of papers fell from the top shelf. Lucas gave her a look and she made her puppy dog face, bringing the papers out of the closet and putting them on the bed.

"Are these important?" asked Haley.

"I'm not sure actually," Lucas said. "Look through them, and if they're not I guess I'll just recycle them, I've been meaning to clean out that closet."

Haley looked through the papers and put the unnecessary ones to the side, which happened to be almost the entire pile, at the very bottom, there was a picture of Lucas and Brooke. It was from their wedding day, they both had big smiles on their faces as they posed for the camera. Haley assumed they were fake smiles, since most the time the couple had put on an act while out in public. Brooke wore an elegant Vera Wang gown, her hair pulled back into a sleek up do, while Lucas wore his best suit. In the background Haley spotted many of their friends dancing, and smiled. Lucas noticed this.

"What's that?" he asked, interested in what his best friend had found.

Haley looked up and smiled a knowing smile at Lucas, holding up the picture.

"Wedding picture." She replied.

"I thought I threw all of those out," he said, slightly annoyed.

"I guess you didn't." replied Haley. "You should keep it though, it's kind of cute."

"Cute isn't the word I'd use." Lucas scoffed, taking the picture from her and studying it carefully. "That part of my life is over, and I don't want to remember it."

"Obviously neither does Brooke, since no one's seen her for, what has it been? A year now?" Haley asked.

"Running away when the going gets tough, that's what you call a weak." Said Lucas.

"Oh, come on Luke! I love you and all, but you embarrassed her pretty bad, I wouldn't want to stay here and have to see you and everyone else everyday." Haley tried to explain.

"Whatever, I'm just glad she's out of my life." He said, trying as hard as possible to get them off the topic of Brooke. As cruel as it was he didn't care about her, and it didn't really matter what she did for the rest of her life as long as it didn't involve him.

"Where do you think she went?" Haley asked, not letting go of the topic that quickly.

"I have no idea, I know her parents know because they contacted her for the divorce settlements and papers, and I'm guessing Peyton's parents do to since she went with Brooke, but other than that, nobody knows." Lucas replied.

"Weird." Haley said. "It's as if she just got up and walked out. So not Brooke Davis. She was always that girl who'd be at every social event. Sweet, and smart, and-"Haley went on.

"Boring." Lucas added.

"She wasn't _boring_", tried Haley.

"Trust me, I married the girl." Lucas explained, and they both laughed.

"Well, I liked her, and I really wish you hadn't done what you did to the poor thing, but I guess what's done is done, I hope she's happy wherever she is." Haley said.

They finished up the last of Lucas' packing and left his suitcases on the ground in his bedroom, heading back downstairs to where Nathan was watching TV. Lucas stopped to throw the papers in the recycling. Among which was Brooke and Lucas' wedding picture.

**September 17, 2006**

[_Lucas watched as Brooke said her final hello's to some more of her parent's clients and went back to her table, where he was on his blackberry._

"_Aren't the flowers just beautiful? They add so much warmth to the room," Brooke exclaimed._

"_Mhmm, whatever." Lucas mumbled, concentrating on his blackberry._

"_It's rude to be using that when we are at a public event." Brooke told Lucas._

"_Shut up Brooke! Jesus." Lucas said quietly, but not quietly enough, Brooke looked up to see Theresa and Bevin's curious eyes darting back and forth between her and Lucas._

_Lucas didn't care though, he was cracking. He had had it over his head with Brooke, and with pretending things were okay when they clearly were not, at least not with him. He had seen a lawyer, and was going to file for divorce. Lucas had decided to let her enjoy this evening, but would tell her bright and early the next morning. He loved his parents, and even though most of their tougher financial hardships were behind them, Lucas knew this would end the merger between Davis Inc. and cause them some more minor problems. He hoped his parents would understand his decision, but he had a feeling they would be more than a little disappointed._

_He felt Brooke rest her hand on his arm, and removed it quickly, avoiding the eyes of everyone on the table, including Brooke, who he felt tense up beside him. He had been planning on putting on an act one last time with Brooke today, but she was increasingly frustrating him, and he felt himself beginning to get angrier and angrier._

_She then, tried again to put her hand in Lucas' hand, playing off his earlier actions as a joke, but Lucas was not in the mood. He yanked his arm away, and turned to Brooke, receiving a glare from her._

_  
"What are you doing Lucas?" she asked quietly._

"_What are YOU doing Brooke?" he asked, loudly enough for everyone at their table to stop what they were doing and stare, as well as others who were sitting around them. "I'm done putting on this act."_

_Brooke turned to everyone and laughed, trying as hard as she could to convince them with her body language that Lucas was joking around, but nobody was buying it._

"_This is a lie, all of it. When it's just me and you I have never let you put your hand on me, and I'm done letting you do it just so other people think we're happy, because news flash; we're not! I've never been so miserable in my life!" Lucas' voice began to get louder and louder, as more and more people stopped to see what was going on._

"_You are probably the most boring person I've ever met! With your stuffy attitude, your 40-year old wardrobe, even the one time we had SEX it was boring!" he yelled loudly, not being able to control himself._

_Brooke looked around; everyone had stopped what they were doing to look at the scene. Everyone. Brooke's friends, acquaintances, business partners, family, the entire town must have been there. And they were all learning the truth about her and Lucas' marriage; they were all learning what Lucas really thought of Brooke. She could see it in some of their eyes, they were amused, Brooke Davis; a stepford wife._

"_I'm done with it though Brooke. I can't deal with this for any longer, living with you has been the worst experience of my life, and I'm ending it. You have something stuck really high up your ss. I'm filing for divorce. Have a nice life." Lucas said, as he rambled on._

_But that was as much as Brooke heard, because she got up, and started walking away. This was too much to handle, every single person that she talked to on a regular basis, which she knew well enough to call an acquaintance, or a friend, was there, and had witnessed all of it. The entire ballroom was silent, except for the sound of Lucas' voice, the cruel words following her out the door. She quickly called a cab and made her way home. Her real home, where her mother and father lived. They were both still at the event, but she knew they would soon be home, and she didn't want to deal with them._

_As she relaxed on the hard seat, she felt the tears beginning to cascade down her cheeks. The whole world now knew that Brooke Davis was so boring; her own husband was divorcing her. She could see it now, the main topic of conversation for a cocktail party, the whispers whenever she went to the country club or to an event. All eyes on her, and not for good reason._

_Life as Brooke Davis knew it, was over._


	6. Float On

**Chapter Four:**

**Float on**

_I backed my car into a cop car the other day  
Well he just drove off sometimes life's ok  
I ran my mouth off a bit too much oh what did I say  
Well you just laughed it off it was all ok  
And we'll all float on ok  
And we'll all float on ok_

_-Modest Mouse_

xxxxx

"I don't think I've ever sweated that much in my entire life!" Brooke exclaimed, as her and Peyton made their way over to their favourite café.

"Come on, you say that everyday," Peyton laughed.

"Today I mean it though, those push ups were intense." Brooke said.

"Brooke, you did two!" Peyton said with an amused expression on her face.

"They were two very nice push ups," Brooke winked.

"Well, at least Owen though so." Peyton added, talking about their trainer.

"P. Sawyer we already agreed not to talk about him," Brooke said, faking angry.

"I just don't understand[, he's cute, smart, funny, he speaks _English_,-" Peyton started.

"Maybe you should date him then," Brooke laughed, trying to change the subject off of her.

"Because he likes _you_. Anyone can see it, give him a chance! You haven't been involved with anyone since-"but Peyton cut herself off this time, knowing they were entering into a conversation that neither her nor Brooke wanted to discuss.

As they turned the corner, they walked to the end of the street and entered a tiny café, a bell chimed when Peyton opened the door, indicating that there were new customers. Brooke and Peyton looked around at the people inside, there were three woman sitting in the corner talking, a man reading a book by the window, and a couple snuggled up by the couches. That was something she loved about Deb's Café, it was always so nice and peaceful. A place where Brooke could come to think and actually hear her own thoughts. They headed towards the counter and took a seat on the stool, waiting for Deb to come out of the kitchen.

Deb Lee was a sweet woman, who had grown up in a small town in California, after attending culinary school in Italy, she had fallen in love with the country. Deciding to stay, she had eventually opened her own successful café. Brooke had befriended Deb when she had first moved to Rome, after getting lost one night, she had entered the café, and Deb had helped Brooke get home. She later introduced Peyton to the café and the two had been regular customers ever since, the two girls and Deb had become close over time.

"Hey girls, what can I get for you?" the older woman asked.

"Just our usual, thank you very much Deb!" Brooke replied smiling

Soon a plate of chocolate chip pancakes and coffee were placed in front of Brooke, who began digging into the meal.

"Did you two just get back from the gym?" asked Deb, noticing that the two girls were in sweats.

"Yup, we went to that new deli yesterday and ate the place out." Brooke laughed, taking a bite of her pancake.

"How is that boy anyway Brooke? Owen, I think his name was?" Deb winked suggestively at Brooke.

"What is it with everyone?" Brooke laughed. "Nothing will ever happen with Owen."

"Come on Brookie!" Peyton pleaded, with her best puppy dog face.

"I think this could be good for you Brooke. From everything Peyton's told me he sounds like a great guy." Deb added.

"He is, he's a really great guy. I just don't know if I want a relationship-" Brooke started, avoiding anyone's gaze.

"One date Brooke, not a life time commitment." Peyton laughed.

Deb nodded her head supportively, and both Peyton and her stared at Brooke, who took a moment to contemplate it.

"I will_ think_ about it, I'm not making promises though." Brooke said, a serious expression on her face.

Deb and Peyton burst out laughing, whenever Brooke said she'd _think_ about something, it was usually a yes. The two woman high-fived each other. Brooke shook her head in disbelief, but joined in the laughter.

Brooke and Peyton talked to Deb for a while, until the morning rush came through the doors, and they said goodbye to the lovely woman and made their way back home. Smiling and waving at the friendly faces they passed by as they made her way down the busy Roman streets, stopping at a vegetable stand to pick up a few things for dinner. Brooke moved her sunglasses so they were perched atop her long wavy head of brunette hair, letting the warmth of the sun gleam over her face, soaking it in. They continued walking, stopping again to look at some hand-made bracelets and admiring the hard work that must of gone into making them. Soon, they were back to their condo, Peyton called the shower first, so Brooke decided to go into Peyton's studio and check out the latest of her drawings.

The room was an exact replica of the one Peyton had at home, it had red walls, and the walls were filled with old school records and drawings by Peyton. Brooke went in their occasionally, but not very often, it was Peyton's space, and Brooke respected that. On the walls there were drawings of Brooke and Peyton, the busy Roman streets, and anything else that enticed Peyton. She admired the way her best friend could turn anything ordinary into something so extraordinary. Peyton had an amazing gift. Her newest creation looked to be one of a pizzeria that Brooke and Peyton had visited the other day.

Brooke then headed towards the kitchen and got out a water bottle from the fridge, taking a few sips and then putting it on the counter top. She then went into her bedroom, which was filled with clothes, books; make up, everything neatly put away in its place. Brooke was a neat-freak; it was one of the few things that had stuck since moving to Italy, she needed to make sure everything was clean before sitting down. That's why their entire apartment was always so clean and tidy. She opened up her closet and tried to decide what she would wear that day. After five minutes of careful contemplating, Brooke decided on a tight fitted brown and white funky floral dress that went halfway down her thighs, showing off more than enough leg.

"I'm done in the bathroom," Peyton peaked her head into Brooke's room, indicating to the brunette that it was free for her use.

After Brooke had showered, she and Peyton were off again, they hadn't been shopping for a month or two, and they both needed a few things. They laughed and tried on ridiculous outfits as they made their way through the crowded Roman shops.

Life had always been good for Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer, but moving to Italy had just made it so much better. Both of them had met when they were young children, Peyton's parents had their own successful business, and their families had been friends from a young age, even before Brooke and Peyton's day. The two of them were completely different, they had different taste in music, clothes, and just about everything else, but they had clicked instantly. Being the other's rock in their most needed times. Peyton had especially come through for Brooke after Lucas had revealed to her, and the entire town, that he was filing for divorce. She had told her best friend that she was moving to Italy for a while, and Peyton had told Brooke that she was coming with her.

Whilst arriving in Italy, both of them had changed for the better. Peyton was happier and her love for drawing, painting, and music had all been re-discovered. While Brooke had learned to become carefree and embrace her looks.

Peyton hated to even think it, but when they had first moved to Rome, Brooke had been a stuffy society girl. Now she was almost the exact opposite, happy and fun, and not worried about what anyone else thought.

Although, this change hadn't just been discovered on its own, it had required a lot of help. And Rachel Gattina was just the person to provide it.

The fiery redhead was a party animal, she went clubbing almost every night, wore clothes any self-respecting woman wouldn't even look at, but she was hot and everyone knew it. Peyton and her had met at the gym soon after moving to Italy, and she had introduced her best friend to Rachel soon after. They two had gotten off to a rough start, Rachel thought Brooke was boring, and Brooke thought Rachel was slutty. Eventually though, after Peyton had forced them to get along, the two realized that they had a lot more in common then they had originally thought.

Overtime, Rachel had helped Brooke let go, taught her how to flaunt what she had, and not to try and live up to others expectations. While Brooke had taught Rachel how to be a little more conservative and still look hot. All three girls had become inseparable, while Peyton would always be Brooke's best friend, and vice versa, it was nice to be able to spend time with someone else too, and to get more than one opinion on things.

As they finished up their shopping, they made their way over to a tiny pizzeria "Luigi's", and sure enough, there was Rachel, flirting up a waiter as he seemed to be taking her order. Brooke and Peyton exchanged looks, laughing as they walked over to the table their friend was residing on.

"Glad you two decided to show up," Rachel laughed, as the waiter walked away. "If he wasn't 17, the things I-"

"We get the idea!" Brooke cut her off, giggling.

"Rachel, Brooke agreed to go on a date with Owen!" Peyton squealed happily, which was new, Peyton never squealed in excitement.

Rachel's mouth shot open and she sent Peyton a look.

"No way!" she clapped her hands excitedly, and looked at Brooke for the details.

" I said I'd _think_ about it Peyton" Brooke shook her head. "There's still just a chance."

"Brooke, he asks you out almost _everyday_ , I wouldn't waste my time on your fat ass, but he obviously sees something he likes, one date won't kill you," Rachel joked.

The waiter soon arrived again to take their orders, and both Brooke and Peyton jokingly hit on him. The seventeen year old was clearly flattered, seeing as he blushed a shade of Scarlett before leaving.

"So I think we should check out that new club everyone's talking about," said Rachel grinning idiotically.

"Acid? I'm in, I heard it was amazing," Peyton said.

"So did I, and I'm in too, but I'm dead tired tonight, so how about tomorrow night?" Brooke asked.

The other two girls nodded in agreement.

"Hey! I have a good idea, we can invite _Owen_," Rachel said with a wink, and Peyton agreed happily.

"What is everyone's fascination with my love life?" Brooke said, astonished.

"Well, for starters you seriously need to get laid, and two, you're the only one of us three that hasn't been on a single date since moving to Italy." Rachel said, straight faced.

All three girls laughed, just as their food arrived and they began eating, making small talk and jokes about one another. Brooke was thankful to have both Peyton and Rachel in life, she had no idea what she'd do without them.

Life was good for Brooke Davis; no commitments, no one to answer to; no one to impress. And no Lucas Scott.


	7. Blonde on Blonde

**Chapter Five:**

**Blonde on Blonde**

Cats and dogs are coming down  
14th street is gonna drown  
Everyone else rushing round  
I've got blonde on blonde  
On my portable stereo  
It's a lullabye  
From a giant golden radio

-Nada Surf_  
-_

xxxxx

As they were escorted out of the Roman Ciampino Airport and into the large limousine that awaited them outside, everyone took a second to admire how beautiful Rome really was. The busy ancient streets, the people, the entire scene, it was so refreshing as a whole. So different from Tree Hill.

They were immediately taken to their first board meeting, instead of the Hotel, which Haley grumpily complained about. Being the only girl there, she seemed to be the only one with a big problem. They passed an enormous construction sight that the limo driver informed them was going to be the location where the new Scott Corp. Hotel would be built, it was an impressive and large space, close to the airport, and close enough to the city.

The board meeting itself was boring and pointless, they were told everything they had been told in Tree Hill, shown plans of what the model would look like, budgets, and then told to take off for the night. As they were leaving the board meeting, Stephanie, one of the assistants who were assigned to work on the project, approached the group.

"Hi, I hope this isn't inappropriate or anything, but a bunch of us were checking out this new club tonight "Acid" it's supposed to be awesome, and since I'm guessing you don't know your way around Rome and will probably be bored tonight, I was wondering if you guys wanted to come?" she asked nervously.

"We would _love_ to," Tim said, before anyone could get a word in, moving closer to Stephanie in a desperate attempt to flirt with her. The other's agreed, deciding it would be a fun first night before they needed to get to work.

"Alright, a limo will pick you up from your hotel at 9:30, be ready." She said, smiling and walking away.

"Dude, she is _so_ fine," Tim gawked.

"Dawg, don't _ever_ say 'fine' _again_," Skills shook his head, clearly amused by the situation as was everyone else.

Later that night, everyone piled their way into the limo and headed towards Rome's hottest new club. Since it was their first night in the beautiful city, they had all decided to dress up. Haley was wearing a cute black dress, while the guys all had spiffy shirts on and had attempted to fix their hair, for once. Stephanie, a few other girls joined them once they arrived.

Lucas could see why everyone was raving about "Acid", it was great. The dance floor was huge, the place was booming, he hadn't checked the bar out yet, but he expected it to be stocked as well. He looked around at his friends, Nathan and Haley were sitting in a corner giggling about something, and he smiled.

His best friend and his brother; he had always expected it. When they were little kids; Nathan had confessed to Lucas that he liked Haley, but it was a sworn secret. A few years later, when they were in middle school, Haley admitted to Lucas that she too had feelings for Nathan, and the rest was history. They had been strong ever since, getting married at a quiet ceremony right after high school.

Tim was chatting up Stephanie, while Jake and Skills were talking to a few other girls, all clearly amused at Tim, and Stephanie. Well she looked like she was going to cry. Lucas couldn't blame her, Tim was ridiculous sometimes, and also completely desperate for a girl. He occasionally got lucky, he would take a girl who was too wasted to remember her own name home, but other than that, most girls found him repulsive.

He noticed Jake and a pretty blonde haired woman making their way over to the dance floor, while Skills took another to the bar.

As Jake and Rebecca made their way onto the dance floor, he smiled, she was hot. He'd noticed her in the board meeting earlier that day, and they had sent each other flirty glances, being here with her tonight had defiantly been good luck for him. They had began to talk, and he soon learned that not only did she have the beauty, she also had the brains. She was the financial manager for the project, and was in charge of all the income problems.

They began dancing and he let the music take over and started to move with the beat, as Rebecca grinded into him. Things soon began to get heated as she placed a hot open-mouthed kiss on his neck, he fought a moan. She smiled and gave him a seductive glance, biting her lip. She wrapped her arms around his neck and moved very close to him, as they continued dancing, she pushed him back, and began leading him towards the back wall, but just as they were almost off the dance floor, Jake collided back-to-back with a blonde haired girl, and almost knocked her off her feet. He immediately pulled away from Rebecca and turned to the other woman, whose back was to him and seemed to be regaining composition.

"I'm _really_ sorry, I had no idea anyone was behind me," he said to this strangers back, she was extremely tall and skinny, and had short straight blonde hair.

"Oh, it's cool, I wasn't looking either," said an awfully familiar voice, and then her head turned, a smile plastered on her face, that instantly fell when she saw who was behind her.

"Jake?" she asked, shell shocked.

"Peyton Sawyer." Jake said, giving her a look over. She looked _amazing_ in her short, tight, green dress, it accented her..breasts, and those legs he'd had way too many dreams about. "Wow, you look _really_ good." He managed to say.

"Thank you," she said, blushing, but kicked herself, Peyton Sawyer never blushed over a guy, but this wasn't just _any_ guy.

"So, I'm not sure how exactly to act right now. I haven't seen or heard from you in a year and a half, and now I've literally stumbled into you, in a foreign country, on a completely different continent." He said, trying to form some words.

"Yeah, " Peyton managed.

Rebecca stood their extremely confused of what was going on. But Peyton's dance partner, Robert, knew exactly who Jake was.

"This is _Jake_?", he asked Peyton, almost excitedly. "I'm Robert, a good friend of Peyton's. She's told me _so_ much about you. It's nice to finally meet you." He said, extending his hand.

"Nice to meet you too." Jake said, shaking Robert's hand and noticing that Peyton had turned a furious shade of red.

"So- you two know each other from before?" Rebecca asked, looking Peyton over continuously, Jake frowned at that.

"Huh? Oh, yeah we do," Peyton said, clearly still flustered and shocked that Jake Jagelski was standing in front of her.

"Peyton's from my home town, we, well we-", Jake was clearly confused at how to say it.

"We dated," Peyton finished for him, giving Rebecca a look.

"For six years," Robert added in, giving Rebecca a dirty look.

"Thanks Robert," Peyton replied, closing her eyes, clearly frustrated with the situation.

"Wait!", Peyton said, suddenly coming to a realization. "W-what are you doing here anyway?"

"Overseeing the construction for the new Scott Corp. Hotel," Jake said, without hesitation, not really thinking about why she had asked the question.

"Wait, does that mean _Lucas is here_?" Peyton asked, clearly worried.

"Yeah, Peyton I don't understand what you're trying to get a-", Jake started, but after taking a second to think about it, he understood. "Is _Brooke_ here?", he asked.

"Obviously, Brooke and I live here." Peyton was worried about what would happen if Brooke or Lucas came face-to-face.

"Get Lucas out of here!" she ordered Jake.

"What? No! You get _Brooke_ out of here," he shot back.

Peyton glared at him, shaking her head, before grabbing Robert and walking off.

"We have to find Brooke! She can't see Lucas, she'll freak." Peyton explained.

Lucas sat at the bar and looked around the club, trying to find a girl that would entice him for the night. His eyes rested on one in a white dress walking towards the bar, towards him. She smirked at him, clearly having the same plans that Lucas did. She sat beside him, avoiding his gaze and not talking to him.

"I'll have a scotch on the rocks please," she told the bartender.

"That's a pretty big drink, for such a little lady," Lucas whispered. "I'll have the same." He told the bartender. She turned to look at him curiously.

"You should never drink alone," he explained to her.

"I wasn't planning on drinking alone," she whispered to him.

"So, you're here with someone?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Just two of my friends," she replied.

"You vacationing?" Lucas asked her.

"Nah, I moved here a few years ago, I'm from the States. How about you?" she replied, asking the question again.

"I'm here on business, but I'm from the States myself," he told her.

"Sounds cool," she smiled. "So, are you going to tell me your name boy?"

"Lucas Scott," he replied, but she didn't hear him, a huge crowd of drunk woman had just passed by them, making a lot of noise. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Rachel Gattina."

xxxxx


	8. This Will Be Our Year

**Chapter Six:**

**This Will Be Our Year**

_You don't have to worry,  
All your worry days are gone.  
And this will be our year,  
Took a long to come  
- Ok Go_

xxxxx

Jake, Robert, and Rebecca followed Peyton as she paced around, frantically searching for Brooke. Jake couldn't help but admire how beautiful she looked, even when she was angry. Although he'd always found her to be extremely attractive, there was something different about her now, he couldn't quite place it, but now it seemed like she shined. She was obviously happy.

He glanced around for Brooke, and ended up catching Skills' eye, his friend gave him a questioning look, and he motioned for him to come over quickly, Skills was obviously confused, but he excused himself and made his way over.

"Dawg, couldn't you see I was busy, what could you possibly nee-", Skills started, but Peyton heard the all-to-familiar voice and turned around quickly, giving one of her oldest friends a huge smile.

"Skills!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Peyton? Oh my god." Skills was shocked, he pulled Peyton into a hug and the two stayed in the embrace for a good couple of seconds.

"I missed you blondie," he told her. "And you look good."

"Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself." She replied winking. "And I missed you too, I'm so glad you're here."

"_Wait_, do you _live_ here?" he asked, suddenly confused again.

"Yes I do." She replied. "With Brooke, who we need to find _right_ now, before she sees Lucas."

"Oh shit, I didn't even think about that!" Skills said.

"By the way Skills, this is my friend Robert. Robert, one of my oldest and best friends, Skills," Peyton formally introduced the two, who shook hands.

The five of them began to search all over for Brooke, realizing that a confrontation was not what either of them needed right now.

xxxxx

Brooke hated to admit it, but she was surprisingly having a good time with Owen. He was sweet, and really funny, she hadn't laughed this much in a long time. He was pretty easy on the eyes as well. Still, she found it hard to let herself go with him, and let herself like him, he wasn't really her type of guy.

"Did I mention you look amazing?" he said, for the 100th time that night.

"Yes, actually, you did, but thank you." She replied, trying to play it cool but blushing furiously. She was wearing an extremely short red halter dress, which exposed most of her beautifully tanned legs, with a pair of black heels. She had let her curls down, surrounding her face, and she had applied minimal make up, giving her face a fresh look.

They were sitting at one of the three bars in the club, taking shots, but Brooke wasn't anywhere close to drunk, her and Owen had danced for a bit, and were just talking now. She began looking around for Peyton and Rachel, and she saw someone that looked like Tim Smith, but laughed it off, he was hundreds of miles away in Tree Hill.

"You know, I've liked you for the longest time," Owen told her, putting his hand on hers and caressing it gently. Brooke nodded her head for him to continue. "I was really happy when you asked me to come with you tonight."

"I'm really glad you decided to come," Brooke said, smiling at him and slightly giggling.

"You have the cutest dimples I have ever seen," he told her.

She replied with a smile, but cringed inside. He really needed to stop complimenting her, she was sure that if she had five or six more shots, she would defiantly call him out on it, so she decided to take her last one and stop. She suddenly spotted Peyton, and decided to over and talk to her.

"Excuse me for a moment Owen; I'm just going to talk to Peyton." Brooke told him happily, leaping off her stool and making her way over to her best friend and Robert.

xxxxx

Luckily, Peyton saw her first, and turned to Jake and Skills.

"You two have to get away! Brooke's coming this way, if she sees you she'll ask about Lucas." Peyton told them.

"We can just say he isn't here," Skills said.

"Yeah. Besides, we haven't seen Brooke in almost two years." Added Jake.

"Well, if she knows you're here, she'll want to hang out with you guys, and Lucas will tag along, it's a big mess, better to just avoid it," Peyton frantically tried to get them to leave, as Brooke got closer and closer, still completely oblivious to the situation.

Brooke shrieked loudly, and Peyton groaned, sending both Jake and Skills evil glares. Brooke's mouth was open wide with shock, and both Skills and Jake seemed to be pretty shocked themselves.

"Oh my goodness," Brooke said, cupping a hand to her open mouth. "I can't believe it, Jake? Skills?"

Both men shook their heads, looking at the completely different Brooke Davis before them.

"Wow," was all Skills managed to say.

"Brooke, you look amazing." Jake said, for both of them.

"Thank you," Brooke pulled Skills into a hug, and then Jake.

"I can't believe you guys are here. I saw someone that looked like Tim earlier, but I shook it off, is he here with you?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, he is." Skills said, quickly.

"Wait, is-is-"Brooke started, but everyone except Rebecca knew who she meant.

"No, he isn't." Jake said as fast as he could.

Brooke looked from Jake, to Peyton, to Skills, to Robert, shot Rebecca an odd look, and smiled.  
"How long are you guys here?" Brooke asked.

"They leave tomorrow," Peyton budded in.

"Yeah." They both answered. "Early morning flight."

"Well I wish we had known you were here sooner, but I guess we will just have to make your last night here a memorable one. Let's go back over to the bar, my date is waiting, and then we can get a round of drinks and paint the city red." Brooke began walking back over to the bar.

"We have to get her out of here!" Peyton said, clearly frustrated.

"Brookie, how about we get out of here? Tim is with some chick, he'll just meet us back at the hotel room, and it's the rule. You grab your date and lets get out of here." Jake told her.  
"Okay, that sounds like a good idea." Brooke smiled, still completely oblivious. "But what about Rachel?" she asked Peyton.

"I saw Rachel, with some guy, she's probably already back at home or his apartment, don't worry about her." Peyton tried as hard as she could to come up with a lie.

"Oh, alright." Brooke said, giving Peyton a weird look, but walking off to get Owen.

xxxxxx

Rachel was drunk, but not drunk enough to forget that the man sitting beside her was hot. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, a beautiful smile, and toned arms. Perfect for a night in the sack, Rachel had really lucked out tonight. He wasn't even that bad of a conversationalist.

"So Lance, what brings you to Rome anyway?" she asked, giggling.

"It's Lucas sweetheart, and I'm just here on business." He replied.

"That's pretty cool Logan," she smiled at him.

Lucas smiled back, she was obviously drunk if she didn't even remember his name, and he was feeling kind of tipsy himself, it was the perfect time to ask her to come back to his hotel room with him. He gently put his hand on her thigh, and let it rest there.

"So, how about we get out of here?" he whispered in her ear, leaning over.

"Sounds good," she said, now not sounding nearly as drunk as she had a minute ago. Rachel glanced around the room for any signs of her friends, spotting Brooke's short red dress and brunette head, she decided to let her friend know that she was leaving.

"Come with me Lincoln, I just want to let my friend know we're leaving, and you can meet her," Rachel said, grabbing a hold of Lucas' hand as they walked over to the other side of the club, where Rachel's friend was.

xxxxx

Peyton let out a breath, finally. They were leaving the club, and any chance of Brooke running into Lucas was very very minimal. She couldn't believe that they were in Rome of all places, and for how long? She had no idea. Peyton was ecstatic to see Skills again, and even Tim, they had been friends since they were in diapers, but she was hesitant about spending time with Jake, the two of them had too much history for this to go well.

They had started dating when they were fourteen, at first it wasn't much of a relationship, they only really did it because it's what everyone else was doing, but as time progressed, they began to fall in love, and both saw sides of each other that nobody else did. Six years later, they were still going strong, and still madly in love. However, on Peyton's 20th birthday, Jake proposed, he took her down lover's lane, a long beautiful road that was normally deserted in Tree Hill, and he bent down on one knee under the stars and the night sky, and popped the question. All sorts of emotions rushed through Peyton at that moment, but ultimately, she turned him down. Explaining that they were too young for it to ever work out between them.

_They walked hand in hand down the deserted road, often referred to as "Lover's Lane" to the townspeople of Tree Hill, for it was the place where many couples often went for late night "sessions." _

"_Oh man, thank you so much for everything today Jake. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday." She told him, giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek._

"_You deserved it," he told her, giving her a loving look, which made Peyton blush. Peyton Sawyer was not one to blush, but Jake Jagelski always seemed to have that affect on her._

_They continued down the road, talking and laughing, hand in hand. Suddenly, Jake removed his hand from Peyton's and stopped, Peyton stopped as well, and she gave him a confused look._

"_Peyton, ever since you've come into my life, you've made it so much better. As corny as it sounds, you complete me." Jake started, and Peyton smiled at him warmly, what he did next, was completely unexpected._

_He bent down on one knee, and took a case out of his pocket, a ring case. Peyton couldn't believe it._

"_Peyton Sawyer, will you make me the happiest man in the world, will you marry me?" he asked._

_Peyton cupped a hand to her mouth; she could not believe he had just proposed to her! _

"_Wow Jake, t-t-this is so sudden, just wow." She started, stuttering on her words, not really knowing what to say. "I'm sorry, I can't." she told him, watching as a look of sadness and disappoint washed over him. _

_He got up, and gave her a completely defeated look._

"_We're only 20 years old, Jake; we've only just become adults. We have so much to see, so much to discover, we're still in college! This is when we figure out who we really are. I don't want either of us to look back and regret this decision." She tried to explain, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks._

"_I know who I am Peyton, and I know what I want. I want to marry you, but obviously you don't feel the same way." He told her, a slight bitter tone in his voice._

"_Jake, you have to understand," she pleaded with him. "I love you."_

"_I'll walk you home," he told her, and began to walk away. _

They had tried to continue dating after that, but had just gotten into arguments, and had become an on-again off-again sort of couple. Their final break up was only a week before she had left to Italy with Brooke, and Peyton hadn't seen Jake since then, besides today of course.

And she had to admit, he looked good. A part of her wished she could just grab him and crash her lips into his, like she used to be able to. But she shook those thoughts aside, they were two completely different people now, and he seemed to already have someone, the Rebecca chick who had annoyingly tagged along.

xxxxx

Lucas couldn't even see where Rachel was taking them, the club was so crowded. He tried to find Skills, Tim, or Jake in the crowd, but had no luck. They knew the rule though; every man for himself and they all knew Lucas' game. Love em and Leave em.

"Brooke!" Rachel ran over to her friend, letting go of Lucas' hand, who followed quietly behind her. He cringed at the name Brooke though; unpleasant memories of his ex-wife entered his mind. She had been a boring, stuck up, society girl, which he had been bound to because of an important business merger. When he had announced he was filing for divorce, she had packed her bags and taken off, never to be seen again. That was actually quite fortunate for Lucas.

He walked closer to where Rachel was talking to her friend with her back to him, he couldn't see the friend's face, but she had long brunette hair, a lot like Brooke Davis', but that Brooke always wore hers in a bun, or some sort of elegant up-do, this one had sexy, natural curls. He knew any chance that it might be Brooke Davis was eliminated when he saw her outfit. She was wearing a short red dress; something that Brooke Davis would think was trashy. Lucas was relieved when he saw Skills and Jake, talking to two women, who had their backs faced to him. He recognized the shorter one with longer hair as Rebecca, but he had no idea who the taller, skinnier blonde was, she had short hair, and seemed angry with the hand gestures she was using.

He decided to walk over to them, but he stopped dead in his tracks as he caught a glimpse of _her _face.

Long tan legs, beautiful breasts that were slightly revealed under a low cleavage line, full lips, big hazel-green eyes, and dimples he could not believe he had never admired before. That could _not_ be Brooke Davis. This couldn't be happening.

Her breasts weren't that big, she wasn't tan, and she would never wear a dress that short. No way, that could not be here. He had almost convinced himself into thinking that he was seeing things, when he caught another glimpse of her as she laughed at something Rachel was saying.

That was defiantly his ex-wife.

xxxxx


	9. This is Our Town

**Chapter Seven:**

**This Is Our Town**

_Cause this is our town  
This is who we're meant to be  
This is our town  
Where our roots have grown so deep  
All I ask is that you'll be here  
When I return  
-We The Kings_

xxxxx

Brooke laughed and shook her head in disapproval as Rachel told her about how she was leaving with some guy she'd just met an hour ago. Brooke was well aware of her fiery friend's promiscuous side, part of the reason she had taken an immediate dislike to the girl, but she had learned to get used to it. This was who Rachel was, and she'd settle when the right guy game along.

This new guy was a blonde; blue eyes, nice physique, from what Rachel had said. He was an American here on business. Brooke laughed at the irony, a brief thought that it might be Lucas crossed her mind, but he was far off in Tree Hill.

"So, where is this guy anyway?" Brooke asked Rachel, curious to see him before they took off and did "it" all night.

"He was right behind me a couple minutes ago," Rachel said, scanning the crowed, before her eyes landed on someone. She pointed to where she was staring. "Right there! That's him, in the blue shirt." She told Brooke excitedly.

Brooke laughed, looking up in the direction that Rachel was looking towards, looking for the blonde haired, blue eyed, blue shirted boy. Her eyes landed on him. She couldn't believe it. Her mouth shot wide open, he was looking straight at her. She felt her blood begin to boil and knew she had to get out of there. She then turned back to Rachel.

"Have fun Rachel. I'm feeling kind of sick, so I'm just going to head back to my apartment." She told a very confused Rachel. Turning back to where Peyton, Skills, and Jake stood, with their heads down, she glared at them. Owen and Rebecca seemed to be really engrossed in a conversation with each other; she didn't even bother to tell him she was leaving.

She grabbed her purse and made her way out of the club, exiting from the far door so Peyton or Rachel wouldn't be able to find her. She began walking as fast as she could down the semi-crowded streets. It was chilly, and all she had on was a short dress, but she didn't care. Brooke wanted to get as far away from Lucas Scott as she could, she could not believe Jake, Skills, and probably Peyton had all lied to her about it. He was the scum of the earth as far as she was concerned, and one of the reasons Brooke had moved to Italy was so that she would never have to see him again.

"Brooke! Brooke!" she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

It was Lucas. What was he doing? She continued walking, as fast as she could, but she could hear his footsteps catching up to her. Brooke contemplated running, but decided that it wouldn't be a smart idea, seeing as she was wearing heels, and would probably end up with a broken leg. She felt a hand grab her arm and spin her around.

She was face to face with Lucas Scott.

"What the hell Lucas!" Brooke said, yanking her arm out of his grasp and glaring at him, he didn't say anything though; he just looked down at her, with an unreadable expression on his face.

Brooke felt herself tense up a bit, but she told herself to relax. Taking a good look at Lucas, she realized that as much as she hated to say it, he looked pretty good. His hair was a bit longer than it had been before, but a good length, not too long. He had grown some facial hair too, but again, not too much. A perfect balance. He had his arms in his pockets and was just looking down at her.

"Well?" Brooke asked, rolling her eyes. "Say whatever was so important that you chased me three blocks down to say."

"Well, to be honest I'm not really _sure_ why I came after you," he shrugged, which made Brooke even madder.

"Alright, not that that's settled, I'm going home." She replied, turning around and about to walk away.

"Typical Brooke Davis fashion, isn't it? Running away when the going gets tough." He said, a smirk on his face.

"I'm not, and never have run away from any of my problems." She turned back around, furiously responding to him.

"You're right," he told her. "I mean, after that benefit when I told you we were getting divorced, you just decided it would be fun to go to Italy and never come back." He replied, in his most sarcastic tone.

"Shut up Lucas, and stop spinning that crap! I didn't run away from anything, you embarrassed me infront of everyone I cared about, anyone I talked to in Tree Hill, you were a jackass then, and you obviously still are," she was almost screaming now, but she didn't care, the anger inside her head built up for almost two years now, and she needed to get it out.

xxxxx

He knew she was mad. Mad wasn't the word, she was furious. She had been screaming at him for ten minutes straight, but he could barely register half the things she was saying, he was just staring at her, fascinated. She looked _amazing_, this was not the Brooke Davis he had married. She was confident, and feisty, and she looked hot as hell, standing there, hair in her face, cheeks flushed.

"So don't tell me that _I'm_ running away from my problems Lucas! Because we all know that you are an insecure piece of trash. Boo-hoo, you know you've never lived up to your parents expectations, and Nathan has gone above and beyond, and that kills you." She told him, smirking slightly.

Now _he_ was furious. He moved closer to her, their noses almost touching now, and saw a flash of fear in her eyes, but it was gone seconds later.

"You know _nothing_ about me, you stuck up little-" he started, but she cut him off.

"Oh, must've hit a nerve." Brooke said, with some fake giggles.

Lucas had never hit a woman before, he might sleep with more than he could count, but he drew the line there. Today, he wanted to hit Brooke Davis, but he wasn't all that surprised at himself. She made him want to do things that were completely against his morals.

"What's all this Brooke?" he said, pointing down at her outfit, her shoes, and even up at her hair and make up. "Do you really think that dressing up in hot outfits and dabbing your face with powder, is going to change who you really are?"

Brooke was now silent, and Lucas knew that _he_ had hit a nerve.

"Face it, Brooke. You are the exact same as you were back in Tree Hill. You're stuck up, boring, stuffy, and any guy would still rather talk to wall paper then to you." He dug the knife a little deeper.

"Shut up, Lucas" she replied back in a bitter tone.

"You know I'm right Brooke. I mean, look at your date in there, he was chatting up Rebecca, and you were _three_ feet away. Face it-" he was cut off when Brooke's hand collided with his cheek, he grabbed a hold of his face where she had slapped him.

"You bitch!" he screamed.

"I forgot to give you _that_ in Tree Hill." She said, before turning around and walking away.

He hated her. He hated Brooke Davis more than he'd ever hated anyone in his entire life. She was a psychotic freak, and he wished that he hadn't chased after her tonight. The way she thought that she knew him so well, Italy had made her cocky. As angry as he was, he had to admit, she had been right about a few things, but he had no idea how she knew, they'd never had a heart-to-heart, and he surely hadn't ever let down his guard and allowed her to see his insecurities.

He began walking back over to the club, but as he was walking back, he heard a voice behind the bushes, it sounded a lot like-

"Jake! You're stepping on my foot." Peyton squeaked.

"Rachel, get off me," Skills said loudly.

Lucas turned around and walked behind the bush, surely enough, there they were. Jake, Peyton, Skills, and Rachel, all standing there, guilty expressions on their faces. They had obviously heard the confrontation between Brooke and him, because if looks could kill, Lucas would be ten feet under with the looks Peyton and Rachel were sending his way.

"Asshole." Peyton pushed past him, walking in the direction Brooke had just gone in.

"I can't believe I was going to sleep with you! Scum." Rachel added, as she followed Peyton.

xxxxx

Brooke was back at the apartment, in her pajamas, watching re-runs of "The O.C." when Peyton came in, a small apologetic smile playing at her lips.

"Save it Pey, I'm not mad." Brooke told her, almost reading her mind.

"But I do have to apologize Brooke, I shouldn't have lied to you, I just didn't want all of [i]that[/i] to happen." Peyton told her, sitting down beside her on the couch.

"Thanks for looking out for me," Brooke whispered.

"Anytime. So, how are you?" she asked.

Brooke shrugged, not really sure how she was.

"I'm fine, I guess. I mean it's Lucas; I'm not surprised. Just some of the stuff he said, it got to me." She told her.

"I know, I'm sorry." Peyton responded, enveloping her best friend with a huge hug.

"But enough about me, how was your night?"

"Well, JAKE was there! You saw him, and I don't know, I mean, he looks really good, but he had a girl with him.." Peyton started, and Brooke rolled her eyes, knowing this would be a long night, she'd had enough of them in high school, but she didn't mind, and so she listened to Peyton go on and on about Jake, happy that she always had her best friend.

xxxxx


	10. Concrete Bed

**Chapter Eight:**

**Concrete Bed**

_The world's locked up in your head  
You've been pouring it a concrete bed  
Your habits ossify  
You don't realize you're fried  
To find someone you love  
You've gotta be someone you love  
-Nada Surf_

xxxxx

Brooke frowned as she walked down the ancient Roman streets and towards Deb's, mentally replaying the events of the previous night in her head. She couldn't believe Lucas' nerve! Who did he think he was? _He_ had embarrassed _her_. He wasn't allowed to waltz back in and do it again, it was her turn! She hated him, she really did, as strong of a word as it was; it described how she felt about Lucas Scott to the core.

She had skipped her workout today, avoiding what would likely be an awkward confrontation with Owen. He had been all over that blonde girl the night before, and even though she didn't particularly have feelings for him, it did upset Brooke. After all, they had come together on a date; he wasn't supposed to be flirting with other girls.

She was just about to turn the corner, when she heard her name being called behind her, she turned and was met with the sight of Owen. _Great_, exactly what she needed so early in the morning. He was walking towards her, with an extreme look of determination on his face. Brooke considered running off, she still had time, but then thought about how idiotic and high school it seemed, so instead, she stood entirely still.

"Hey! I missed you this morning," he told her, a slight smile playing at his lips.

"Yeah, well I didn't feel all that well," she lied, rubbing her head.

He nodded. "Well, I just wanted to apologize to you about last night, I'd had a little too much to drink-"he started.

Typical, Brooke thought, the "I drank too much" excuse.

"And she was just there, and I ended up flirting a lot, and I'm sorry about it. But I do really like you, and I was hoping we could try again."

Brooke groaned inward, did she _really_ want to go out with Owen again? No, she didn't. There was no spark and she wasn't interested. However, he was a great listener, easy on the eyes, funny, a good catch, and he'd had the decency to apologize to her about the night before.

"We can try again." Brooke nodded. "I have to get going, but I'll see you tomorrow." She told him, with a slight wink and a flash of her adorable dimples.

"Bye Brooke." He said, leaning over and giving her a light kiss on the cheek.

Brooke had no idea why she'd told him they could try again, but he was a sweet guy, and how many guys would have found a girl the next morning to apologize for flirting with a hot blonde chick? Not many. If he asked her out again, she would say yes, she decided.

She continued on her way and smiled when she saw the familiar sight of her favourite deli's and bakeries, it wasn't Deb's, but it was a place where she could sit outside, eat a delicious sandwich or a slice of Italian cheesecake, and soak in the sun.

She ordered a pesto pasta salad, chatted with Antonio, the owner of the deli, for a bit, before leaving. She checked her phone and realized she still had a good half hour before she had to be at the office for work, so she decided that she would look for Peyton's birthday gift in the mean time. It was a few weeks away, however her and Rachel were planning a surprise party for Peyton, plus with work and Rachel dragging her out on excessive amounts of clubbing, Brooke had no idea when she would get some time.

So with that, she put on her Prada sunglasses, and made her to 5th, where she could hopefully find something of Peyton's liking.

xxxxx

Lucas groaned, he had been at work since 6 am, hadn't gotten any sleep, the last thing he needed was a traffic jam during his very short lunch break.

"Ricardo, how much longer do you think this will take?" he asked his limo driver impatiently.

"I am not sure sir, maybe tventy minutes or so?" Ricardo replied in his thick Italian accent.

"Damnnit. Okay Ricardo, I'm just going to walk it, I saw some nice restaurants a few streets down when we drove by this morning. So I'll just call you when I want you to pick me up." He told Ricardo, before opening the door and getting out.

He was unbelievably tired. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night after the club, and Haley had barged into his room at 5 am telling him that they needed to be at the office in an hour. Lucas was surprised he had even gotten out of bed, but the massive hang over had followed him all the way through the morning. That, and thoughts of Brooke Davis. That was what was frustrating him so much. The fact that he couldn't get her out of his head. He told himself it was only normal, he hadn't seen her in a year, she had had the nerve to [i]slap[/i] him, and she was still as obnoxious as ever. He couldn't stand her, at all.

On top of all that, the morning had been awful. The building had been approved by his parents before they had come to Rome, however they had to decide everything else, in and out of the hotel. Which meant the rooms, the pools, the spas, the restaurants; it gave him even worse of a headache thinking about it all. They also still hadn't hired a decorator for the rooms. Lucas and Nathan had assumed it would be the company that his parents usually hired for their hotels, however after a phone call to his mother, Lucas had discovered that Karen Scott wanted this hotel in particular to have a homey feeling, so they wanted a company that was based in Rome to decorate it. [i]Great[/i], Lucas had thought, another job to put on the already massive to-do list they had developed in the morning. However, Haley had told him that she would take care of it by the next morning, and Lucas was a bit relieved. When Haley was taking care of something, she knew how to take care of it.

He picked up some pizza from a one of the many parlours down the semi-crowded street, and checked his watch. He still had a good twenty minutes until he needed to be back at the office, so he decided to explore the area.

He turned a corner and was met with the sight of many boutiques, Prada, D&G, Chanel, Ralph Lauren, almost any designer brand he could think of was squished onto this small yet very large road. He would have to tell Haley, she would be in heaven shopping on this street. Each shop located in an ancient cobble stone building. The city was a breath of fresh air, the people were so friendly, there was something about the ancient architecture that he just loved so much.

He made his way down, only really window shopping, as he didn't have much time to go inside and try things on. He found himself admiring the Italian woman a lot more than the actual clothing. They were gorgeous. So tan, with huge breasts and amazing legs. He made a mental note to check out a nude beach or two. He needed to get laid, and he was in Rome, European girls would be wild, and it would be great fun.

Lucas knew that his parents wanted more than anything for him to find a nice girl and settle down. But that was exactly what Lucas didn't want. He was young, he was hot, and he wanted to enjoy it. Nathan had always been the commitment type of guy. The one who got straight A's, the good looking one, the perfect one. Lucas was the black sheep of the family, and his parents never let him forget just how different he was. One of the many reasons that he hated the elite of Tree Hill. He didn't understand how they could just live these perfectly fake lives, spend all their time hosting dinner parties and being nice to people, half of which they probably didn't even like. After Brooke, his mother had tried setting him with many different girls, but they were all the same to Lucas, they tried to hard, they were "perfect" ladies, and it annoyed the crap out of him. They were all pretty, however unless they just wanted a night in the sack, that wasn't enough for Lucas. He needed adventure, he wanted a woman who would keep him guessing.

After about ten minutes of looking at the shops and the gorgeous Italian woman, Lucas decided that he should call Ricardo to come get him. He took a seat on a nearby bench, pulled out his phone, and made a quick call to his driver to pick him up.

In the sweltering heat of the sun, Lucas itched a bit in his suit, he was used to wearing them, however at this very moment he felt as though he was going to melt any moment now. He envied the men and woman around him that were walking around in shorts and t-shirts, and he sat there and took in the scene of every day life in Italy.

The people all looked so happy, almost ecstatic, he saw a little girl running down the street, her mother close behind her, a few couples holding hands, an elderly husband and wife having coffee, it looked like pure bliss. And then he saw her.

Her hair was flowing loosely as it had been the night before, she was wearing a fancy, almost peasant-looking floral shirt, with a pair of black shorts that revealed her tan legs, but also left a lot to his imagination. She had her sunglasses atop her head, and a coffee in her hand, smiling and waving at shop owner and pedestrians and she made her way along the street. She had a bag in her hand, so she was doing some shopping.

It was weird for him to see her like this, she looked at ease, and happy, and a slight pinge of envy shot through him, but he quickly shook it off. She didn't notice him, he was across the street and she wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings that closely. When they had been married, and even when he had seen her last night, she was angry, or putting on a fake smile, and a sugary voice to impress people. She didn't look like she was trying to impress anyone, she looked really very content. He studied her for a few more minutes, until she was around the corner.

Lucas didn't understand why he found this so strange, maybe because the _real_ Brooke Davis he knew was nothing like this, she was so uptight and perfect, this one seemed happily

The tiny café looked homey and sort of American when his limo had passed it on the way to work, so he had taken his break as the opportunity to go explore it. He was not expecting to see Brooke Davis, who, unfortunately for him, looked just as good as she had last night. She was wearing a pair of black shorts, with a white v-neck, and a red cardigan. Her hair was flowing loosely as it had been the night before, and he had no idea why it appealed to him so much. Probably because it was completely different from the hair the Brooke Davis he had known would have. There was something so enticing about it, something that just made him want to reach out and touch it. And he had never noticed how red and lush her lips were, especially when she was pouting like that.. But he stopped himself before his thoughts went any farther, this was Brooke Davis, the woman he completely despised, and he reminded himself she was exactly the same as she had been a year ago. Her voice shook him out of his thoughts.

"What are you, stalking me?" she asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh, you wish", Lucas said, equally as bitter. He couldn't stand her attitude, the way she acted as though she was completely superior to everyone else.

"I'm just saying, it's a [i]little[/i] bit weird that you'd end up in the same café as me in a city as large as Rome!" Brooke exclaimed, maybe a little too loudly, as a few heads had turned and Deb had stopped what she was doing to watch her favourite customer and an unfamiliar American man argue in the middle of her shop.

"Don't flatter yourself, I wouldn't have come in here if I had known you would be here. And I'm surprised you didn't just [i]run[/i] out of here, it's what you're good at." Lucas smirked, which made Brooke's blood boil even more, he could almost see a vein popping out of her neck.

"Give that a rest Lucas, I did us both a favour." She rolled her eyes furiously, and he found himself thinking about how hot she looked when she was angry. He cheeks were flushed, her lips pouted so that they looked even more inviting, and her shirt going a bit lower than it had been a moment ago, revealing some cleavage.

But then he saw that cleavage turn, along with the rest of her, and storm out the door, and he then mentally slapped himself for thinking about Brooke Davis as anything more than a complete and utter boring b!tch. This was all just an act to put up in Italy, back home she had been a debutant in every where. She didn't drink anything except for wine, she wore pearls, and dresses that went past her knees, and made sure that every hair was in place, and never did anything that someone would frown upon, spent her time volunteering for charities or at the country club with all those other elite woman who were exactly like her. Yup, that was Brooke Davis, he told himself.

"Wow, I've never seen Brooke act like that to a stranger before, you must've really said something to set her off. "the older Blonde woman said, a slight smile on her face.

"I guess she was just having a bad day," Lucas decided to not tell her that he was her ex husband. Obviously the woman seemed to know Brooke well, so that topic probably had come up in the past, and he doubted Brooke had any pleasant stories from that marriage.

"Do you know each other?" Deb asked, seemingly a bit skeptical.

"You could say that," he smiled his signature Lucas Scott smile.

"Well, Brooke's lovely, so sweet, and smart, and beautiful," Deb said, grinning idiotically, Lucas just nodded, not wanting to disagree with this woman.

"Well, I have to get going, this is amazing, I'll defiantly be back." He told the older woman, pointing to his frappacino, and paying her, before making his way out the door.

xxxxx

Peyton was opening the door to her and Brooke's apartment when the phone rang, she quickly set her bag down and grabbed the phone, checking caller ID, but she couldn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Peyton?" said the voice on the other line, and she knew who it was.

"Speaking," she laughed a bit.

"Hey! It's me, Jake" he responded on the other end, and her stomach immediately released the butterflies that were inevitable when it came to Jake.

"Yeah, I figured" Peyton giggled, but then stopped herself. She was Peyton Sawyer, she did not giggle.

"So..it was great seeing you last night," Jake said, after a bit of a silence.

"You too! You looked good." Peyton replied. _Really good_, she thought to herself.

"You did too, and really happy too." He said, and then there was a slight silence, while Peyton looked down, smiling a bit, she _was_ happy.

"Yeah, I guess I am." she told him.

"I'm glad, you deserve to be." Jake said, and Peyton tried to think of something to say before the conversation completely died out.

"So, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out, you know? I mean, we haven't seen each other in over a year, this is my first time in Rome, and you could show me around," Jake said.

"I would love to hang out," Peyton said.

xxxxx


	11. Broadway

**Chapter Nine:**

**Broadway**

_Forgotten but not gone  
You drink it off your mind  
You talk about the world  
Like its someplace that you've been_

You see you'd love to run home  
But you know you aint got one  
And you're living in a world  
That you're best forgotten around here-  
-Goo Goo Dolls

_xxxxx_

Haley was in heaven.

Rome was one of the most beautiful and romantic cities she had ever been to, and even though they were here for work, there was no reason her and Nathan couldn't enjoy it. After a few days of hard work, she was exhausted and in need of a break. So when Nathan surprised her with dinner reservations to one of Rome's hottest restaurants; _La Pergola. _It was located on a tiny hill, and supposedly reservations had to be made months in advance, however since Nathan _was_ a Scott, he had pulled some strings.

"This is _amazing_ Nathan, I've been needing a night off for a while now," Haley told him, placing her hand atop his.

"You _deserve_ a night off, you've been working harder than both Lucas and I put together" Nathan stared at her with the same affection he'd had in his eyes since they had first started dating.

Haley blushed a little, as the waiter came and took their orders.

"So, I haven't gotten the chance to talk to Lucas yet, he's been busy with work and whatnot. Do you know how he feels with Brooke being here and all?" Haley asked, genuine concern washing over her. Lucas had been her best friend for as long as she could remember, she didn't like how he was painted as the bad guy, and she knew this situation would put him in a not so great light once again.

"Umm, not so well. He was complaining about her to Jake yesterday. Something about how she thinks she's hot and it doesn't seem to be going over very well with Lucas." Nathan laughed a little, shaking his head.

"Brooke Davis is pretty, elegant, sophisticated, _but_ hot wouldn't exactly be the word I'd..use for her. She's cute." Haley told him.

"Well, we haven't seen her in over a year Hales, so you never know. Although hot was never the word I would use to describe her," he replied, and Haley shot him a look.

"I never had a word to describe her," he reassured his wife playfully.

xxxxx

"This is all _really_ nice, Owen, you didn't have to go to all the trouble." Brooke explained to him, extremely flattered that he had brought her to _La Pergola,_ one of the hottest restaurants in town.

"Yes I did, you deserve the _best_," Owen said, and Brooke had to fight back a frown because Owen had been completely cheesy and if he was going to keep this up she would defiantly not enjoy herself at all. She wondered to herself why she had even said yes, and she really couldn't figure it out. A part of her wanted to prove to Lucas that she was enticing and beautiful and that guys were lining up to date her, however Brooke was fuming at the fact that she made any decision revolving around Lucas or his train of thought. It was completely ridiculous and unnecessary.

The waiter came and took their orders, and as soon as he was gone Brooke turned to Owen and realized she really had no idea what to say. It wasn't that nervous feeling when you're out on a date with a guy you really like and you're shy, it was just that, _Why are we here together?_ feeling.

"So, I heard your ex-husband was in town?" Owen inquired.

"Yes, unfortunately," Brooke rolled her eyes.

"I can't believe that guy, if I was married to you, I'd never take you for granted," Owen said, grazing his hand alongside hers, Brooke smiled, _god, could this guy come up with anything original_

"What happened with the two of you anyways?" Owen asked.

"We got married because of this business merger, and we didn't get along so then we got divorced." Brooke told him the short, clean version.

"Oh," was all Owen replied with, finally realizing that this was a touchy subject.

xxxxx

"Denise, I told you that I need those finals _now_" Lucas yelled through the intercom to his secretary, who's top priority was making sure that her manicure stayed perfectly intact, god forbid _actually_ doing the job she had been hired for.

"I'm sorry Mr. Scott, here they are," she said, appearing through the grand wooden doors and handing him a file of documents.

She was a pretty girl, probably a year or two younger than Lucas; she had long blonde hair, and a next to perfect body. If he wasn't so stressed at the moment, he might actually think of propositioning her. However they had only been here a week and they were already experiencing a mountain of problems.

They needed an interior designer to begin working on the individual decorating for the rooms, the kitchen, the swimming pool, the lounge, and the hundreds of other attractions Scott Corp. had in their luxurious hotels. The construction workers had changed the estimates, so they all had to be looked over and approved. They had also began working on plumbing estimates and the total was coming out to an insane amount.

He had arrived at the office in the early hours of the day, and didn't leave until the late hours of the night. This was his once chance to really prove himself, if he got everything underway successfully, he could finally show his father that he _was_ just as serious about this as Nathan was about the family business.

Just then, his cell phone rang, he checked the caller ID, and speak of the devil, it was his dad.

"Hey dad," Lucas said, surprisingly for the first time he really wanted to talk to his father.

"Lucas, what the hell have you been doing?" his father answered at the other end, his even more stern than usual.

"What? I've been _working_, what do you think I've been doing?" Lucas bit back, a little annoyed.

"Working doesn't mean spending two hours at the office and then going off to some bar and fucking some random girl," Dan's tone was even more aggressive, and Lucas couldn't believe he had actually said "fucking". It wasn't a word that came out of Dan Scott's mouth often, well actually, ever.

"Where is this coming from? I've been working my-" Lucas began.

"Yes Lucas, I'm sure you have. Because that's what you always do, you work. Give me a break kid; you could care less about all this. It's just one big game to you. I know for a fact that Nathan has been working day and night, faxing your mother and me daily reports, taking care of finding the decorators, the plumbing, and goes the construction site everyday. Do you _really_ think that I'm going to let you take over this company with your level when you fail to realize the important of this company and this building. Italy is a _huge_ tourism market. So wake up! You're not a child anymore" Dan yelled fiercely into the phone, and Lucas could feel his blood boiling.

Before he had the chance to respond, Dan had hung up, and left Lucas angrier than he'd been in a while. The familiar feeling that he had experienced ever since he was a little boy. The one where he felt the walls closing in on him, and an overwhelming sense of inadequacy began to wash over him. He couldn't believe his father; he had been working just as hard, if not harder than Nathan. And although it was true that on most past projects Lucas hadn't really done much, more so serving as the pretty face for landing deals, or doing a few odd side jobs, or just making a presence at meetings.

However, this time was different, this time he was really attempting to work hard and get this all off the ground. He wanted to proof to his father that he had what it took, and that it wasn't all about partying and drinking for him.

He looked around his empty office, knowing that everyone else working on the project was long gone by now, all enjoying themselves. Skills and Jake had been out partying every day this week after work.

So why the _hell_ was he still here? Obviously his parents didn't _actually_ think he was working, he had nothing to lose.

With that, he loosened the buttons on his suit, and locked up before making his way out. He could have a little fun too…

xxxxx

Haley laughed as her and Nathan listed the interior designers they had already talked to, and ones they had appointments with over desert.

"Remember, we also need somebody who speaks _English_" Haley reminded him, as the last three they had talked to were all fluent in only Italian.

"Man, I don't know why mom is being so persistent with getting one from Italy, we could just fly one in from back home," Nathan said, running his hands through his hair, as he asked the waiter for their bill.

Haley shrugged, before leaning in and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you _very_ much for this evening, it's been a lot of fun and I'm glad we've finally got to unwind." Haley told her husband.

"I'm just glad I got to spend some time with you," Nathan said, giving her a kiss. "Things are going to get crazy so we might not have too much time for that until it starts to slow down and everything is all figured out." Nathan told her.

The waiter brought them their bill, and they got up to go.

xxxxx

"I had a good time tonight, Brooke." Owen informed her as they made their way out the restaurant doors at the front.

Brooke smiled, and nodded. She hadn't had a good time. He had questioned her about Lucas for half the night and talking about Lucas was defiantly not her idea of _fun_.

"So, do you want to go to Body English?" Owen asked casually, and Brooke had to hold back laughter because he sounded like a 15 year old boy.

Body English was a popular nightclub down the street, and although Brooke often went with Rachel and Peyton, she had no desire to accompany Owen there.

"I'm actually really tired, Owen. It's been a long day, so I think I'll just head home." Brooke informed him, letting out a fake yawn, hoping it sounded real.

"Oh, I'll drive you." Owen insisted.

"Oh, no you don't have to do that," the last thing Brooke wanted as an awkward drive home, what if he expected a _kiss_ after?

"You sure?" He asked her.

"Yes, I'm positive, I'll take a cab. You go, enjoy yourself." Brooke told him, a convincing smile at her lips.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow morning," he told her, giving her an awkward kiss on the cheek.

_No you won't_, thought Brooke, but all she replied with was "Hmmm."

She turned around and sat down on the nearby bench, calling a cab from her cell phone. Night life in Italy was amazing. Every club and restaurant on the street was in full swing, there were people selling things on the streets, it wasn't even just on weekends or Friday nights, it was _every_ single day. She loved sitting there and just watching all the different coloured lights.

All she had on was a short sleeved white sundress, it reached a bit above her knees, so she tucked it lower, feeling a bit chilly. Her long auburn hair was not in wild waves today, but in fact she had straightened it. It was the first time in a while, and it felt sort of weird since she rarely did it. On her feet she was wearing her favourite pair of bright red flats.

She was about to call Peyton, as her and Rachel had gone out, and she wanted to check up on them, when she heard a voice call her name from beyond. She turned around and came face to face with Nathan and Haley James Scott. They were both smiling at her excitedly, and she grinned back, taking a few steps towards them.

"Wow, it's been a _long_ time," exclaimed Haley, pulling her ex sister-in-law into a hug. Although Haley and Brooke had never been close, the two had been forced to attend endless Scott family functions together, and had started talking. Haley was a sweetheart.

"I know, it's so good to see you." Broke replied, before turning to Nathan.

"I was wondering when we were going to run into you," Nathan laughed, giving her a hug as well.

"So I take it Lucas has complained about me?" Brooke asked, rolling her eyes playfully.

Haley and Nathan exchanged a knowing look and laughed, words weren't necessary to answer that question.

"You look amazing though! Really good, and my goal is defiantly to get a tan at least half as good as yours while I'm here," Haley told her.

"Oh, that actually won't be hard to achieve, a couple days at the beach and you'll be set." Brooke informed Haley.

"Well, you'll have to take me since you know this area _a lot_ better than I do," Haley replied.

"Defiantly, give me your number, I'll call you and we can go out for coffee. I know you're the only girl that's here on this venture so hanging out with all guys will probably drive you insane sometime soon." Brooke giggled, winking playfully at Nathan.

"Oh, that would be great," Haley genuinely seemed happy that Brooke was making an effort, and the two exchanged phone numbers.

"So you look good Brooke, how's everything going? Do you have a job here, or what?" Nathan asked, genuinely curious as Lucas, Skills, or Jake hadn't gone into too much detail about what Brooke was doing.

"Everything's good, Peyton and I rent an apartment here. I know, sounds trashy, but it's actually a nice place to live," Brooke informed them, knowing that anything less than a large estate or suburban mansion was weird for the two of them. It wasn't that they were superficial or shallow, it was just the way things had always been for them; their natural reaction would be to think that an apartment was filthy. "And yes, I actually work as an interior designer for an up and coming design firm."

Haley and Nathan immediately looked at each other.

_Bingo_.

"Rachel, I'm tired, we've been dancing for like two _hours_, I'm going to get a drink," Peyton screamed to Rachel over the blaring music.

As usual, Rachel had managed to drag her to another club, and as usual, Peyton wanted to go home. She ordered her drink and was about to make her way back over to Rachel when a familiar face caught her eye. _Jake._

A smile immediately made it's way to her lips, looks like they'd be hanging out a lot sooner than either of them expected. Peyton had no idea what exactly she wanted with Jake, a part of her wanted a relationship, however the other part of her didn't want to string him along and then just drop him when commitment began to creep up on them and Peyton couldn't handle it. So she was just going to take it one day at a time with him.

"Jake!" she called out, but he couldn't hear her over the load music, she saw Skills approach him, and then walk back over to wherever they were. Peyton looked back at Rachel, who was now dancing with a complete stranger, and turned back to Jake, deciding to make her way over to him. She was halfway through the crowd that was separating them, before she stopped. A hot little brunette had grabbed Jake's hand and dragged him onto the dance floor.

The smile on Peyton's face immediately faded and was replaced with an uncontrollable frown, she made her way back to the bar.

"I'll have some vodka."

xxxxx

Lucas continued to thrust into her, each time with more and more force. She moaned loudly, and he could feel her getting close, but he couldn't stop. He needed this, it was his only escape. It was the only way he really felt in control.

After leaving work, he'd gone to a random club, gotten wasted, picked up a random girl, and they had gone back to some beat up motel. She had been easy to lure in, not really caring about conversation, and clearly looking for a fuck with the skimpy outfit she had put on. Yup, that was the way he liked them, easy and slutty.

Mindless sex was god's gift to the world. No commitments, no one to answer to, and most of all, you didn't have to worry about hurting the other person; they didn't care about you, and you didn't care about them. It was easy, and Lucas had no idea why anyone spun commitment around anyways.

He thrust into her one more time, before pulling out and leaving her there, panting uncontrollably. He put his clothes back on, and took out his wallet, throwing down some money.

"For the motel bill," he said, not remembering whether or not she spoke English.

And with that, he stumbled out the door.

xxxxx


	12. Time To Pretend

**Chapter Ten:**

**Time to Pretend**

_This is our decision, to live fast and die young.  
We've got the vision, now let's have some fun.  
Yeah, it's overwhelming, but what else can we do.  
Get jobs in offices, and wake up for the morning commute._

Forget about our mothers and our friends  
We're fated to pretend  
To pretend  
We're fated to pretend  
To pretend  
-MGMT

xxxxx

"Okay, so we have gotten the final estimates back and they need to be sent back to the headquarters to be looked at, after that the building can resume, and if all goes well, we'll be out of here after the New Year." Jake explained, showing them the blown up estimate plan.

"Okay, so that's almost everything for today's meeting," Haley began, eyeing Nathan nervously, what she was going to bring up next would _not_ go over well with her best friend/brother-in-law. He already looked like he was in an awful mood, not really saying anything through the meeting.

"Hales, have you and Nathan made any progress with find a decorator?" Skills asked them.

"Actually, we have" Haley tried to sound cheerful, but she knew Lucas wouldn't be happy with this decision. "We've decided on Brooke Davis."

Skills and Jake immediately began to laugh, and after Lucas processed it in his mind, he also let out a little laugh, the most expression that had been on his face in the past hour. They all continued to laugh for a few minutes until they realized that Haley and Nathan were not laughing.

Lucas straightened up the quickest. "You're joking, right?"  
"Before you overreact, Lucas, just listen to me," Haley started.  
"Haley, you are not _seriously_ considering hiring her for this, are you? Please tell me this is a joke." He rolled his eyes in a frustrated manner.  
"It works out perfectly, she knows Scott Corp. really well, she's a designer for a good firm, Nathan checked it out, she speaks _English_, she knows her way around Rome," Haley explained, listing all of Brooke's qualities.  
"I don't _like_ her. I don't get along with her, she can't be working for us, that'll mean I'll have to work _alongside_ her!" Lucas was almost screaming.  
"Calm down, Lucas." Nathan began to get a bit frustrated. "Haley and I will be working with her most of the time, you won't even really need to do anything, except _maybe_ attend a meeting that she's at, but there will be all of us here. Trust me, it'll be as though she isn't even here."  
"I don't like this, at all. But it's your call, whatever." Lucas picked up a few documents he needed to take back to his office, and stormed out the door.

Haley put her head in her hands, she knew Lucas was going to be upset, it just frustrated her beyond belief that he couldn't put the company before himself. It wasn't as if he'd have to even see Brooke. She would be out of his way most of the time.

"I'll talk to him," Nathan reassured her, giving her a kiss on the forehead gently.  
"No, I'll talk to him," she smiled up at him. "But I've got a lunch date with Brooke in about fifteen minutes, so it'll have to wait until after."

xxxxx

"No, Brooke you don't understand, she was practically giving him a lap dance!" Peyton exclaimed over frozen yogurt as they sat on the balcony of their apartment.

"Are you sure he wasn't drunk P. Sawyer? I mean who was she anyways?" Brooke asked, knowing that this upset her best friend a lot more than it should.

"I don't know! She was just some _random_ girl, well, I think she was. I mean if he showed up with her that would just make it that much worse." Peyton rolled her eyes.

Brooke gave Peyton that knowing look, one of the many she could give her best friend, expecting her to understand the silent messages.

"What?" Peyton asked her faking innocence. Brooke wasn't buying it, she raised her eyebrow at her blonde haired best friend.

"Okay, okay, I know it's ridiculous that I'm getting so worked up over this, but I mean, it really did seem like Jake wanted to reconnect. And I guess I wanted to try things again too, is being mad about this selfish of me?" Peyton asked sincerely.

"I wouldn't necessarily call if _selfish_. It does seem as though he wants to try things again, and I know that you do but I'd say talk to him before you overreact. As much as I want you and Jake to get back together and live happily ever after, it has to be what the _both_ of you want as well." Brooke told her truthfully.

"Yeah," Peyton replied, but Brooke knew that she was lost in her own thoughts.

"Listen Peyt, we'll talk about this later, okay? Just _promise_ me you won't beat yourself up about it, or you know you'll turn out to be one of those insecure girls that sits at home and cries about the guy that didn't like her," Brooke winked, and Peyton threw a pillow at her best friend.

"Don't even, I will _never_ be one of those girls," she said, as matter-of-fact.

"We'll see," Brooke replied playfully. "I've got to get going, I'm going to be late for my lunch date with Haley."

"Yeah, what's the deal with that, you cheating on me?" Peyton said, stone faced, and when Brooke gave her a look, she laughed.

"But in all seriousness, you two hanging out now?" the blonde asked.

"She wants me to be the designer for the new Scott Corp. hotel," Brooke responded, avoiding eye contact with her best friend.

"Really? Brooke, that's great! You know how good that'll look on your resume. Plus you'll get paid the big bucks!" Peyton told her, excitement animating her features.

"Yeah, it's really cool, I'm excited, _but_ it would mean running into Lucas frequently," she rolled her eyes.

"Come on Brooke, it's _Lucas_! Now is your chance to really prove to him that you don't care about all the crap he pulled. Not that you need to prove anything, it's just that he needs to know that you don't make decisions revolving around him." Peyton told her, trying to drive the point home.

"You're right," Brooke said, shaking her head. "I think I'll take the job, actually. I don't care if I see Lucas or not, what difference does it make to me? He means absolutely _nothing_ to me."

xxxxx

"They have _amazing_ cakes" Haley exclaimed, taking another bite of her amaretto cheesecake.  
"I know! Peyton and I found it one day when we were going for a run." Brooke told her, laughing at the irony of finding a dessert shop while exercising.

Haley and her sat on the dock overlooking a small lake in a quieter part of the city. In the distance there were a group of children playing in a park, and a few people out on the lake in their ships. The sun was absolutely beaming and both Haley and Brooke were burning hot.

"I'm really glad you decided to take the job, Brooke" Haley told her truthfully. "I know it might be a little awkward with Lucas and everything, but I promise he'll stay out of your way."

"Oh, I'm not worried about Lucas at all really, so you don't have to worry about that." Brooke said, partially lying.

"Good," Haley smiled. "I'm looking forward to working with you, both professionally and I'm hoping we can you know, be friends."

"Friends sounds good," Brooke laughed. "How is everything with you, Hales? You and Nathan and all that?"

"Things with Nathan are, well, they're pretty good, they're good, they're just.." Haley seemed almost at a loss for words, and Brooke was confused and a little worried.

"Is everything okay?" Brooke asked, sporting a puzzled expression.

"Yeah, everything's fine, it's just that, well," she looked around, as if someone was spying on them and she didn't want whoever it was to hear them. "You can't tell anyone this, Brooke."

"I promise," Brooke said, sounding five years old, and becoming extremely curious as to what Haley's secret was. Was she having an affair? Were they getting divorced?

"I'm pregnant," Haley told her.

"Haley! That's _great_, congratulations!" she got up and gave her friend a big hug. "Aren't you excited? I mean, wow, that's huge!"

"I am, I'm really excited, it's just that I really have no idea how to tell Nathan. He's been really stressed out lately, and I don't know, I guess I have to. It's just so unexpected. I mean, we have talked about it, but we had decided to wait a while," Haley shrugged.

"Mhmm, but you need to tell him, he hast he right to know, plus isn't it _killing_ you to keep it in?" Brooke questioned.

"Yes! I haven't even had the chance to talk to Lucas or anyone, so you're actually the first person I've told," Haley informed her, and Brooke grinned.

"This is big, how far in are you? And how long have you known?" Brooke inquired curiously.

"I'm about two months in, and I've known for a few weeks, and I know that I should be telling Nathan, I was planning to at dinner the other night but we ran into you and then we were excited at the possibility of finally finding our decorator so we were just really caught up in that, I'm telling him soon though," Haley reassured her.

"Okay," Brooke smiled.

Pregnant, _wow_.

xxxxx

Jake rang on Peyton's doorbell, he was nervous, he hadn't called, so he hoped that she would be home. A few seconds later, she opened the door, wearing a pair of shorts and a black tank top, paint smudged on one of her cheeks, her hair dishevelled, but she looked as beautiful as ever.

"Hey," he smiled.  
"Hey, I wasn't expecting you," Peyton responded, seeming surprised.  
"Yeah, I thought I'd surprise you, you know, drop in for a little visit, I hope you don't mind," Jake explained.  
Peyton laughed, "Not at all, come on in." She moved out of the way so that he could come through the doors. He handed her some roses, and she took them, her eyes widening a bit.

"Getting a little cheesy, aren't we Mr. Jagelski?" Peyton inquired.  
Jake shrugged, "It's only ever gotten me so far with you," he laughed, however Peyton did not. Jake noticed this.

"Everything okay?" he asked, his brow creasing a bit with worry.  
Peyton closed her eyes for a few seconds, before re-opening them and smiling with her eye brows raised.  
"How far do you want to _get_ with me, Jake?" Peyton asked him, going around the other side to get a vase for the roses.  
"Aha," Jake said. "I was wondering when this would come up."  
"Well, I just don't want to build up any kind of expectations and then have them all be crushed when I realize you don't want the same thing," Peyton rambled.  
"I don't know Peyton, it's been a while, and we're both different people now. As much as we might not want to admit it, there's a chance that we aren't right for each other anymore." He explained, gently.  
"Well, I'm willing to try and find out if you are," Peyton told him through her eyelashes, a seductive move that surprisingly suited her well.  
"Good, that's what I was hoping for," Jake told her.  
"Anyways, I happened to notice a few days ago that you and this little brunette were at the same club as me and Rachel, and let me tell you Jake, the things she was doing to you, they're illegal in some states in the US," Peyton shook her head playfully, letting out a little laugh as Jake looked completely mortified.  
"I swear she came onto me," Jake put his hands up.  
"Well you weren't exactly fighting her off," Peyton said, making her way over to him on the other side of the countertop. "Besides that doesn't matter, all that matters is _now_."

With that, she grabbed a hold of his tie and yanked it towards her, as her lips crashed down on his for a split second, before Rachel walked into the apartment.

"You little _slut_!" Was all she said before walking past them and grabbing a bag of chips from the cupboard, acting as if this was a completely regular occurrence.

xxxxx


	13. Morning Glory

**Chapter Nine:**

**Morning Glory**

_all your dreams are made  
Now you're chained to the mirror with your razor blade  
Today's the day that all the world will see  
(It's) another sunny afternoon  
Yeah I'm walking to the sound of my favourite tune  
Tomorrow doesn't know what it doesn't know too soon  
-Oasis_

xxxxx

Lucas sat in his office, his chair turned to face the window where he could see the Roman skyline perfectly, it was absolutely beautiful, but he had no time to enjoy any of it with work.

Surprisingly, his father's phone call hadn't turned Lucas off of the project as he would've expected, it just motivated him more to work harder. He knew this was _his_ project, and he would get it done and off the ground, with or without his father's stamp of approval.

Dan Scott didn't faze him anymore, he'd gotten used to his father's aggressive personality, although he argued with him tirelessly. It was Brooke Davis who bothered him.

He couldn't believe Haley, going behind his back and hiring Brooke. She was fully capable of making decisions for this company; after all she did work alongside him and Nathan and was just as experienced. However as his best friend she knew better than anyone how much he disliked Brooke, the fact that out of the _hundreds_ of interior designers available to them in Italy, she had picked the one that he could not work with.

Just then, he heard a knock at his door, and slid the wheels of his chair around, coming face to face with Haley who had let herself into his office, her arms folded across her chest.

"Look Luke, I know you're mad, but just hear me out, alright? Your mom gave me the deadline of Friday to get an interior designer. Half of the ones Nathan and I interviewed didn't speak a _single_ word of English! And then we ran into Brooke and the fact that she worked at a design firm came up, it wasn't as if we went out of our way to go and find her, it just sort of happened. The last thing that I want to do is to put you in an awkward position or risk our friendship over it, it just had to be done." She finally took a breath, a hint of nervousness in her eyes.

Lucas stood up, shaking his head, a slight smile at his lips, he was still angry, obviously, but it was _Haley_. He could never be mad at her for long.

"You were just doing your job, I had no reason to get all pissy like that, so I guess _I'm_ sorry too. But you know how I feel about Brooke," he told her sternly, putting his arm around her.

"I know, _trust me_ I do. But you won't even really have to see her; she'll be working with me and Nathan, all she needs is an office, and she'll start tomorrow." Haley told him, biting her lip.

"An _office?_ She does _not_ need an office, Hales!" Lucas threw his hands up.

"Come on Lucas! You just apologized to me and now you're getting all mad again over nothing, it won't even be on the same floor as yours, so _calm down_. I've already gotten Millicent to give her an office." Haley tried to reason with her best friend.

Normally, she wouldn't take this sort of attitude from him, but she knew Brooke was a touchy subject, and she couldn't blame him for being mad, so she decided to not let her anger get the best of her and try to stay calm.

Lucas turned back to his desk and sat down, massaging his temple.

"Okay Hales, but I don't want to see her, that's all I have to say about this." Lucas said.

"I promise Luke, it'll be fine." Haley leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, before moving towards the door, turning to stick her tongue out at him, and leaving.

As soon as she was gone, Lucas picked up the phone and punched in a few numbers.

"Hey Millicent? There's been a change of plans regarding Ms Davis' office."

xxxxx

Peyton emerged from her room in her bathrobe, while Brooke was organizing a few things for her first day of work at Scott Corp tomorrow. Her hair was all over the place, and she had an idiotic grin on her face.

"Jake left a few hours ago, he didn't want to wake you but he said he'll be over later." Brooke kinked her eyebrow suggestively at her best friend, silently urging her to tell her the story of what happened between them the night before.

"Don't give me that look, like Rachel hasn't already filled you in. He came over, we talked, and then we had sex." Peyton said nonchalantly, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"P. Sawyer! You're turning _into Rachel_." Brooke laughed at her friends bold actions. "So does this mean you two are officially a _thing_?"

Peyton shrugged, not really knowing the answer to that. Her and Jake had made love for hours on end last night, but she had been so exhausted that she had fallen asleep after that, and they hadn't gotten the opportunity to really talk.

"I don't know, we still need to talk about it." Peyton told her. "And it looks as though you got the job!"

"Yes, I did." Brooke said, pursing her lips together. "Haley promised me I won't have to see Lucas much, which was the deal maker."

"_Again_ with the Lucas! Come on Brooke, why does it even matter if you'd see him or not? He doesn't run your life. When we moved here, you wanted to go from prim, conforming, Brooke Davis, to a sexy, independent woman. And to be honest with you Brooke, although you look sexy and have become so much more independent, there's still a big part of you that hasn't changed, and I don't think it will until you and Lucas really deal with your issues."

Brooke really had no idea how to respond to that. She wanted to tell Peyton that she was wrong, and that Brooke was independent, and that Lucas Scott had nothing to do with the decisions she made, but a part of her knew that Peyton was right, why else did she care if she'd have run-ins with Lucas?

Luckily, she was saved from having to retaliate when Rachel walked through the doors, grabbing a muffin and sitting down on a chair beside Brooke.

"Go take a shower Peyton, we are going out tonight!" Rachel informed them with a grin.

"Alright, mind if Jake tags along? You two can get to know each other." Peyton pleaded.

"God, you're such a love sick fool. But sure, what the hell. Brooke, you in?" Rachel asked.

"I wish I could, but I've got this convention I've got to go to for the firm, so not tonight." Brooke replied.

"How about the three of us go out to dinner tomorrow night? Celebrate Brooke's first day working as designer for _Scott Corp_!" Peyton laughed.

"Get out! Brooke are you seriously working there, why did I not know about this?" Rachel laughed. "I wonder how Lucas feels about this new development."

"It all happened yesterday, but long story short, I ran into Nathan and Haley and they asked me to do it, it's good money, and they're hard to turn down, so I agreed!" Brooke told her.

"Wait, Nathan and Haley?" Rachel asked, looking puzzled.

"Nathan is Lucas' brother, although you would never think it because he is the exact opposite of Lucas. And Haley is Nathan's wife, as well as Lucas' best friend; again, I don't understand how that works." Brooke smiled, rolling her eyes.

"I see. Well tomorrow night it is then." Rachel said. "Come on Peyton; let's find you a hot outfit for Jake!"

Brooke watched her two best friends go into Peyton's room, and finished putting her folders together, before going into her own room to get ready for the convention.

She wondered if what Peyton had said held some truth. Did her and Lucas really need to confront what had happened between them to move on, not only with other people but also with themselves?

She shook her head, no.

They hadn't even had a real relationship, a forced marriage hardly counted for anything, and Brooke had moved on fine. Peyton just thought that because her and Jake were on good terms, and Brooke didn't have a man, it somehow led back to Lucas.

Well, it didn't.

xxxxx

Brooke was bored out of her mind. She had chatted with a few interior designers that she'd met in the past, mingled with a few people her boss had specifically asked her to make a good impression on, had a few glasses of wine, but there was nothing particularly interesting here that made her want to stay. Brooke frowned at her decision to wear her knew strapless black dress here, although it was a black tie event, there was no one here that would appreciate this outfit. All the men here were stuffy, and old.

She was standing in a corner contemplating whether or not to go and meet up with Rachel and Peyton, when a voice shook her out of her thoughts.

"Now what's a beautiful woman like yourself doing here standing alone?" asked a very masculine, very prim voice.

She looked up and her eyes met a man, he was about 4 inches taller than her, his hair was immaculately done, but it looked so effortless. He wrote a suit, as did all the other men here, but there was just something so alluring and sexy about him. He looked about her age, maybe a year or two older.

"Does that one usually work for you?" Brooke asked, kinking an eyebrow playfully.

"Well, up until now it has, but I'm going to go ahead and guess that it won't be this time." He replied, a flirtatious undertone in his voice.

"You give up pretty fast then," Brooke replied, giggling slightly as she bit her lip.

"Oh, and who said I was giving up," he told her, moving to lean against the wall. "What do you say I get you another drink?"

"I'd say that sounds pretty damn good." Brooke said grinning, but she immediately replaced it with a small smile.

"Chris, by the way," he said, as they walked over to the bar. "Chris Keller."

xxxxx


	14. Easy Morning Rebel

**Easy Morning Rebel**

_He'll be the water if you'll be the wine.  
Sent down from heaven in this earthly disguise  
Well the evening rebel, his heart is stone.  
This earthly body...  
Just a temporary home  
-My Morning Jacket_

xxxxx

"No way! I don't believe you." Brooke laughed, as Chris told her the story of how he was two feet away from Bob Dylan, but was taken away by security because they thought he was a criminal.

"Oh, believe it." He replied, smiling at her.

"No offense or anything, but I would've never pegged you for a Bob Dylan fan, or a musician, and I _especially_ would have never guessed that you were from Tree Hill! That's such an insane co-incidence, and I'm surprised we never met." Brooke told him.

"None taken, most people who meet me at these black-tie events don't. To be honest they aren't my thing, it's just that my mom owns a design firm in Paris, and she wanted me to accompany her since my dad was away on business, anyways _she_ decided to go to the spa last minute and still made me come. Plus I've got a show to do tomorrow night in London so I'm going to be seriously worn out." Chris told her, resting his elbows on his legs and moving forward a bit.

"That sucks! I'm sorry." Brooke told him, a playful pout at her lips.

Chris' eyes captured Brooke's and a surge of electricity shot through her.

"I'm not." He replied, and Brooke felt herself turning a shade of crimson.

This night was coming along _a lot_ better than she could've imagined..

xxxxx

"Rachel is..definatly something." Jake laughed as him and Peyton pulled out of her condo.

"Oh yeah she's _quite_ eccentric," Peyton replied with a smile. "But she's been so great to me and Brooke ever since we moved here, she was our first friend, you know."

"Yeah, she was telling me about it earlier." Jake said, as they made their way back onto the crowded streets back to Peyton's. "Where was Brooke tonight anways?"

"She had a party of some sort to go to for her design firm, speaking of which did you know that _she_ will be the designer for Scott Corp?" Peyton asked, shaking her head at the irony of the whole situation.

"Yeah, Haley told us at a meeting, and to say Lucas was [/i]not[/i] happy about it would be an under-statement." Jake informed her.  
"See, that's what bothers me, why does Lucas care? Why does it even matter to him? Him and Brooke mean [/i]nothing[/i] to each other, at least that's what they've lead us to believe, Lucas had absolutely no reason to care if Brooke is going to be working there or not. It bothers me that Haley had to convince her into saying yes with the fact that she wouldn't have to see Lucas much. So he embarrassed her and it was awful for her, but it's been a year, Tree Hill's elite milked that situation for all it was worth, and they've moved onto something more scandalous. It's time for them to grow up and deal with it." Peyton said, all in one breath.

"Woah Peyt.." Jake laughed, looking nervously on.

"Come on Jake, its true! Lucas refused to go out with us tonight because he thought Brooke would be here, like how ridiculous is that?" she asked him in all seriousness.

"It's going to take time, Peyton." Jake shrugged. "I mean you can't just expect them to be all buddy buddy, _if_ it's going to happen, _if_, then it will happen in good time."

xxxxx

"I really want to see you again, Brooke." Chris told her, as he helped her into her car.

"Yeah, me too." Brooke replied, with a dimpled smile, as a feeling of warmth spread through her, she took out her cell phone, and Chris took a hold of it, punching in his number. Brooke did the same with Chris' phone.

"I've actually got a show coming up in Rome, about two weeks from now, how about I call you and you come watch?" his lingering stare sent a sensation through Brooke, and she felt herself thinking about how promising this could be.

"That sounds great." She grinned.

"Well, I'll let you go," he said, and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek before closing the door and waiting for her to drive off before walking off.

Brooke leaned back in her seat and almost sighed, but realized that would be much too cliché. Chris was _amazing_, he was just so attentive, and interesting, although he was a little bit [Censored]y, and there was a portion of the evening when he kept referring to himself in third person as "the Keller". He was quirky, and funny, and made her feel good about herself.

She knew that a guy like that probably already had a line up of girl waiting at him back in Paris, so she wasn't going to be expecting a call from him. It was just nice to actually feel _appreciated_ for a change, even if it was just for one night.

xxxxx

"Ready for your first day at work for _Scott Corp_?" Peyton asked her as she sleepily slugged out of her room, grabbed a cup of coffee, and made her way ver to the stool beside Brooke, taking a sip, she shook her head and laughed. "I can't get over how hilarious this whole situation is."

"Oh and why would you find it hilarious? I mean, the only reason I can think of would be the fact that Lucas is going to be there, and as I recall _you_ were the one who told me Lucas shouldn't matter." Brooke challenged playfully.

"Obviously it does matter, because you're looking pretty fancy this morning." Peyton informed her, whistling slightly as her brunette best friend rolled her eyes.

Brooke examined her outfit. She was wearing a black pencil skirt, with a silk turquoise, collared shirt. She had on a simple pair of black heels, and her hair was straightened and some of it was clipped back with a hair barrett. It was a stretch from what she usually wore to work, as at her firm there really were no rules as to the dress code. _Just don't show up naked_, was all her boss had said.

"This isn't about Lucas, it's my first day, I wanted to look nice." Brooke told her.

"I know, and I'm just kidding around about all this Lucas stuff, you know that. I'm so proud of how far you've come, and you look beautiful." The blonde told her lifelong friend sincerely, giving her a hug.

"Thanks Peyt, I've got to run, but I'll see you at dinner tonight, I want to hear all about your night and all the details about Jagelski." Brooke said, grabbing her bag and putting her coffee cup in the sink before making her way out the door.

"Good luck!" Peyton called after her, shaking her head as a firm smile stayed planted at her lips.

xxxxx

Brooke couldn't shake the butterflies in her stomach, and it was driving her insane. However she told herself that being nervous for her first day was completely normal, it happened to everyone. Besides, Haley had called her and said that everything was set up, the receptionist at the front, Millicent, would show her to her office, and she would get settled in. Haley was having breakfast with Nathan and would be there in half an hour or so.

She made her way into the perfectly polished, completely glamorous building. There was a waterfall when you entered, and the floors were made of marble. An enormous chandler hung over top and the windows were all made of glass. On one side of the room, there was an aquarium, and on the other there was a coffee shop of some sorts. The receptionist's desk was farther back towards the centre, and Brooke made her way over.

The woman working at the desk was on the phone, and gestured for Brooke to wait a minute. She was pretty; she had long brown hair, which curled a bit at the ends, lushes red lips, and almond eyes behind her glasses. The name on her desk read "Millicent McFadden".

"How can I help you?" she asked, sounding slightly jittery and nervous, which was odd for a receptionist. _She must be new_ Brooke thought.  
"I'm the decorator," Brooke smiled. "Haley told me that you would show me my office?"  
"Oh, Brooke Davis!" the woman shook her hand. "Yes, right this way."

She ushered her down the hall and towards the elevator, as they made their way up, Brooke couldn't help but notice how Millicent looked increasingly uncomfortable, she almost jumped when Brooke made a joke about them getting stuck, and she didn't look at Brooke once, only staring ahead.

Once they were on the third floor of the 10 floor building, the elevator rang and the door opened. There was a reception desk, in front of them, with a few woman working busily. There were also two sides to this floor, on one side, Brooke saw people working, they all looked so executive like and serious. On the other side, she saw that it wasn't nearly as busy..really there was no one there.

"This way, Ms. Davis." Millicent said, still not making eye contact, she lead Brooke down the narrow hall where there weren't an open offices, just rooms, that looked kind of grimy.

At the end of the hall, she opened the door and Brooke was immediately hit with an intense combination of air freshener and wet towels. Her jaw almost dropped the ground when she saw the room. It was the size of her closet back home in Tree Hill. It was completely gray, there was one small window in the corner, a small wooden desk and a wooden chair in the corner, nothing else. She wondered if there were even any outlets here?

Haley _couldn't_ have given her this office. It wasn't even an office! It was clearly a janitors closet or something. It wasn't as if she was high maintenance, this was just a little bit ridiculous. The other shoe then dropped.

"Oh it's great!" Brooke pretended, clapping her hands enthusiastically. "Tell me Millicent, did Haley pick this just for me?"  
"Well, Haley had originally picked an office closer to hers, but Lucas told me that that was for the other decorator he had hired, and instead told me to give you this one." Millicent told her, all in one breath.  
"I can't _believer_ Lucas, that son of a bitch! This is _just_ like him." Brooke threw her hands up.  
"Well, I'm just going to head back down…" Millicent started.  
"_Where_ is Lucas' office?" Brooke almost screamed. She couldn't believe him!  
"Tenth floor, you'll see it." Millicent replied, running down the hallway.

Brooke grabbed her bang and stormed out, leaving the door open to the storage closet, and as she punched the up button on the elevator furiously, many curious eyes travelled towards her.

xxxxx

Lucas was exhausted, he had just gotten out of a meeting with some of his contractors, and he had gone out last night, picked up a girl, and taken her back to his hotel room. When he awoke, he couldn't believe she had the nerve to still be _sleeping_ in his bed! He had gotten her to wake up and get out, although she complained grumpily in Italian, probably about how early it was.

He never allowed a woman he had had sex with to sleep in his bad afterwards. Why would he? It's not as if he cared about them, they were just meaningless [Censored]s. Once he got the high that he so desperately craved, he had no use for them, and was usually completely turned off, so he told them to get out. He had just been so tired last night that he hadn't even bothered.

He was turning on his laptop when he heard loud banging on his office door. Before he could even say "come in", the door was opened and a very angry looking Brooke Davis barged in.

"Davis." He nodded.  
"Don't _Davis_ me! You have some nerve!" Brooke screamed, making her way over to his desk.  
"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, putting his feet up on his desk, and folding his arms across his chest, knowing that the fact that he didn't seem to care at all about this was bothering her.

He watched as she tapped her foot against the floor, and her cheeks turned a furious red. She wasn't blushing, she was _angry_.

"You gave me a closet to work in!" Brooke rolled her eyes. "Honestly Lucas, it's completely ridiculous."  
"Hey, I had no idea what was in that room, I just saw that it wasn't vacated and told Millicent to clear it out and give it to you." Lucas shrugged.  
"Yeah, I'm sure that's how it went." Brooke rolled her eyes, her face completely animated with anger. "But what happened to Haley picking my office?"  
"Oh, I had to give that to Lindsey." Lucas told her, getting up and walking over to get himself a pop from the mini fridge.  
"Who's Lindsey?" she asked, arms folded across her chest, her eyebrows knotted together.  
"She's the decorator I hired." He informed her, turning around. You want a drink?"  
"You smug son of a bitch! I can't believe you. It's not as if we'll even have to see each other." Brooke yelled, using her arms for emphasis.  
"Stop being so conceited and acting like this is all about you. I got one flown in from California, she's done the Hilton, she's an expert, and I just thought we needed someone _experienced._" Lucas smirked, coming over and sitting on his desk, right in front of Brooke.  
"Have you even _talked_ to Haley about this?" Brooke exclaimed. "And I _am_ experienced, and that office was _mine_!"

Lucas had the urge to laugh at how worked up she was getting over this. Her cheeks were completely flushed, her lips were pouted, and her forehead had a few lines on it from her jabbing her eyebrows together. She looked like a five year old.

"This is my company, I can make decisions without asking Haley. Plus it's just more extra help, Haley won't mind." He told her, a knowing smile at his lips.

"Actually, it's Dan's company, soon to be _Nathan's_" she then laughed. Knowing it was a point for B. Davis.

Lucas felt his blood beginning to boil, and he was about to say something when someone knocked on the door.

Both Lucas and Brooke turned as a girl came through the doors. She was wearing a short blue dress, her hair was a dirty blonde, perfectly pinned back, and her make up was done to pure perfection. She looked like she had just stepped out off the cover of Vogue.

"Hey Lucas," she smiled warmly at him, completely ignoring Brooke. "Sorry I'm a bit late, still getting used to things here. But do you want to show me my office now so I can get settled in."

Lucas smirked at Brooke, who was scoffing, her arms folded across her chest.

"Right this way, Lindsey Strauss, right this way." Lucas said with a wink, as the two made their way out the doors, Lucas putting his hand on her lower back. "You're going to love it, it has a view of the Roman skyline, there's a flat screen in there…"

xxxxx

His voice trailed and Brooke couldn't hear the rest as they were too far out the doors.

She could not believe this. That was supposed to be _her_ office, and this was supposed to be _her_ decorating job.

She hated Lucas Scott more than she ever thought possible.

xxxxx


	15. Human

**Human**

_Pay my respects to grace and virtue  
Send my condolences to good  
Give my regards to soul and romance  
They always did the best they could  
-The Killers_

xxxxx

"I'll talk to him, I really can't believe he'd go against me and do something like this." Haley shook her head, as she leaned against her desk, Brooke sitting in front of her in a chair.  
"No, because you know what, he thinks that he has _won_ this! But he _so_ has not, because I am not going to let him! I'll take that janitors closet and put damn good use to it." Brooke folded her arms across her chest, a newfound confidence emerging as she realized she could completely use this to her advantage.  
"So, what about this Lindsey chick?" Haley asked, easing back into her seat.  
"Blonde, leggy, big boobs," Brooke told her, eyebrow raised as if she were asking _"What did you expect?" _  
"I am going to kill Lucas." Haley said through her teeth, smiling up at Brooke. "I'm sorry, I really did think he was going to be okay with you being here but evidently not."  
"Whatever," Brooke said, rolling her eyes. "I know he is your best friend and all, but this is just like him."  
"I just don't understand _why_ he dislikes you so much, Brooke. I mean now that I think about it he has never straight out told me, or even hinted at it." Haley shook her head. "And I'm getting you a new office, I don't care what you say. I can't believe he gave it to that Lindsey girl. I had to-scale models made up for you to use and everything in there."

Haley rolled her eyes and put her hands in her hair, clearly frustrated.

"So did you tell Nathan you're pregnant?" Brooke asked.  
"Yes, and I mean, I guess he took it as well as he could." Haley shrugged, not making eye contact with Brooke.  
"As well as he could?" the brunette questioned her ex sister-in law, clearly confused.  
"Well, it's just that with all the stress and whatnot, a baby isn't really helping, you know? But he does seem sort of excited, so that helps." Haley told her. "Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't want this baby- I just think this is the worst possible time for one."  
"Well for what it's worth, I'm here if you need anything." Brooke smiled.  
"Thanks Brooke, that means a lot." Haley told her, grinning gratefully.

Haley then got up, and walked over to the door out to the office, as Brooke followed.

"So I am going to go find Lucas and give him a beating." Haley joked, sticking her tongue out, as Brooke laughed.  
"Not if I beat you to it," she responded.  
"Good thing we didn't have anything planned for today, tomorrow could you be here an hour earlier? Nathan and I will be here, and we'll have your _real_ office all set up, we can just walk you through things, and then you're going to be picking colours with Nathan." Haley explained.  
"With _Nathan?_" Brooke [Censored]ed an eyebrow.  
"He had a choice between that or fabrics," Haley shrugged.  
"Okay, sounds good. About the office though, really Haley, I mean I was a little upset when I first saw it, but I would be fine with it. Besides I want to-" Brooke was cut off by Haley.  
"There are lots of ways to prove yourself, using a janitors closet as your office is not one of them." Haley explained, as they made their way over to the elevators. "Take the rest of the day off- tomorrow we start working hard."

"Thanks Hales." Brooke gave her a hug. "Let me know if I can help in any way with the pregnancy stuff, and take it easy!"

"You too, don't let Lucas faze you, and let me take care of this stuff.' Haley grinned, winking.

xxxxx

As Brooke made her way out the doors of Scott Corp and back home, Rachel pulled up and went inside, deciding it would be fun to surprise her friend on her first day.

She was about to walk over to the dorky looking secretary, when she spotted Jake at the elevators.

"Jake!" Rachel screamed, making her over to him, as he turned to face her; clearly startled.

"Oh, hey Rachel." He told her smiling, and Rachel admired the way he was so relaxed, as people who didn't know her all that well were usually uncomfortable under her stare. She assumed Peyton had filled him in on her.

"Do you know where Brooke is? I brought some lunch, thought I'd check up on her." Rachel asked.

"You _just_ missed her" he informed, an apologetic grin on his face. "But from what Skills tells me, she had quite the first day."

"Oh, care to fill me in?" Rachel asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well…it depends on what you brought for lunch." Jake said, giving her a playful wink, as the elevator doors opened.

"Lead the way," Rachel replied, laughing as they both made their way into the elevator.

xxxxx

Peyton made her way over to Deb's, she hadn't been there in a few days and she missed the woman, and her coffee. She found herself yet again smiling for no apparent reason, and pressed her lips together while putting her tongue in her cheek to stop it.

This wasn't Peyton Sawyer. Peyton Sawyer brooded, she drew, and sarcasm oozed out of her. But she could take a break from that, just for a little while. She knew that she and Jake needed to figure out what they were, and then this "honeymoon" stage she was going through, if one could call it that; would end.

She just hoped that he wanted what she wanted, because she had no idea how she would cope with just being "friends" or having "fun". It was Jake Jagelski, she couldn't recall a time where they had ever just been friends successfully without having some sort of romantic feelings for one another.

She turned the corner, and opened the doors to Karen's, walking straight into someone.

"Watch it!" the male voice mumbled grumpily.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you..", Peyton started, but she looked up to see Lucas Scott staring at her. "Oh, figures."

"What?" He asked, looking at her as though she was scum.

"Nothing, I'm just not surprised you would be the one to yell at someone for _accidentally_ bumping into you." Peyton told him, suddenly her cheerfulness was gone, and she wasn't sure whether to be relieved or ticked off.

"Couldn't Jake find someone happier to sleep with?" Lucas smirked.

"You're an ass. It's unbelievable that you haven't changed one bit, you've been like this since child birth, I swear." Peyton rolled her eyes, and Lucas turned to face her.

"I don't understand what the hell your problem is, or why you're trying to provoke me to say things to you, Peyton." Lucas told her, a bored look on his face, as if being in the presence of her was completely below him.

"Whatever, Lucas. I don't have a problem with you, _but_ if you try and mess with my best friend, then I will have a problem and trust me, you will wish you were six feet under when that day comes." She told him, tilting her head and flashing a fake smile his way, before making her way to the counter.

She heard the doors open and close behind her loudly, and she smirked.

Peyton had never really had a problem with Lucas herself, but over the years she had known many girls who had. When they were in grade school, he would tease them about their zits or their small boobs, in high school he would get into their pants and never call again, but none of that had ever bothered her quite as much as when he had embarrassed Brooke.

Sure, guys were immature in school; it was normal. However Lucas hadn't been in high school when he had embarrassed Brooke. It wasn't so much what he had said, it was where he had said it and who he had said it in front of.  
Brooke's life had been the high society of Tree Hill. She had been a debutante for years, she worked endlessly for charities, and she enjoyed being a perfect society girl. Never a hair out of place, sensible designer dresses and suits all around. She liked organizing dinner parties, and had been members of those distinguished committees for years. You name it, she had done it.

And she enjoyed doing it, it was her life and she had never complained, to Peyton it had always seemed as though Brooke really enjoyed all of it. And for Lucas to embarrass her in front of all of the people she had put on a perfect smile for, who she had worked endless hours to impress, was just low, and ever since than Peyton's dislike for Lucas had grown.

In a way, however, Peyton had known something like that would happen when she found out about the impending nuptials. She had tried to convince Brooke out of it, but in the end her commitment and loyalty to her family and the business, as well as a bit of guilt, made Brooke's decision for her.

It wasn't as though Lucas was awful to look at it, and she knew Brooke didn't think so either. She remembered when they were six or seven years old, when Peyton and Nathan had briefly "dated" if one could even call it that. It was during one of her many confusing phases with Jake, and it had just been to make him jealous. Brooke would beg Peyton to go and watch the guys play basketball at the river court, and the blonde would agree but she could never understand why her best friend wanted to go so badly.

However, after only three trips down to the lakeside basketball court, Peyton had figured it out. She saw Brooke's eyes travelling towards Lucas a little more than necessary. When she had confronted her on their way home that day, Brooke had denied it, but Peyton saw the way she had blushed.

As silly as it was, Peyton occasionally wondered if that little crush had even a little bit to do with Brooke agreeing, she knew that it wasn't what had fuelled it, but it could've been a tiny bonus.

"Hey sweetie, I haven't seen you around in a while, what can I get for you?" Deb asked, walking over to Peyton after drying her hands with a paper towel.

"Just my usual, thanks Deb." Peyton told her, and she was about to continue on and tell her about the new developments in her life, when her phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered.

"I hate Lucas, I hate Lucas, I hate Lucas, I hate Lucas." Brooke screamed into the phone.

_Oh boy_, Peyton thought.

xxxxx  
"Okay, as cute as Lucas is, I'm really tempted to make his life a living hell." Rachel confessed to Jake, as they had ice cream on the leather coach right outside his office.

"Oh, get in line, there are about a million girls back home, along with a few here in Rome that are waiting to do the same thing." Jake informed her, taking a bite of his mint chocolate chip and letting it melt in his mouth.

Jake was surprised as to how well him and Rachel were getting along. To be honest, he hadn't expected to ever engage in a real conversation with her, but they had been talking for about an hour now. Everything from Scott Corp, to Lucas, to Brooke, to their favourite movies, to music. There was a lot more to Rachel then she lead on, and he was enjoying getting to know her.

She fit in so effortlessly with Brooke and Peyton, at first he had questioned how they had befriended her, but it made sense. Brooke was the rationale one, Peyton was the angry, sometimes wild, most of the time sarcastic one, and Rachel was fun. She balanced the two out.

"So, what exactly is it that you and Peyton are?" Rachel asked, tilting her head.

"Well," Jake started, scratching his head and not really knowing how to answer. "I'm not sure.."

"Well, you should figure it out. You know I would never expect Peyton of all people to be all lovesick, it seems more like a Brooke sort of thing, but it's unbelievable, she makes me want to vomit." Rachel informed him, rolling her eyes, as Jake laughed and shook his head.

"I just don't want to scare her away with the commitment, you know? I just want the timing to be perfect." He confessed.

"You can never ensure the timing is going to be perfect." Rachel said, seriously, and Jake straightened out a bit. "It isn't even important, I don't know why people always worry about waiting for the perfect moment, because most of the time; they spend so much time anticipating it, that it completely passes by them and the opportunity slips through their fingers. Don't let that happen with Peyton, she really likes you."

"Wow." Was all Jake could manage to muster. "Thanks Rachel."

Just then, Lucas emerged through the elevators, making his way over to them looking down at some papers.

"Hey Jake, I need you to look these.." he started, but when he looked up and caught sight of Rachel, he cringed.

"What he hell is with everyone today?" he asked, to no one in particular, looking up at the ceiling and rolling his eyes while shaking his head, as Jake and Rachel laughed.

xxxxx


	16. Paint The Silence

_How can you say your life is empty  
So late in the day  
Why would you stay another second  
Now your sight got in the way  
A combination  
Of love and aggression  
Another second lived  
-South_

xxxxx

Haley found out that Lucas had already paid Lindsey, so she had regretfully informed Brooke that they were going to have to keep her, much to Brooke's dismay.

She hadn't seen Lucas today, Haley had stopped by her apartment in the morning, and the two had gotten coffee, while Brooke introduced Deb to Haley. When they arrived at work, Haley showed Brooke her new office, it was beautiful. On the walls were the approximate measurements of the main rooms from the hotel; on her desk was a portfolio of all of them, a computer, and basic office materials. There was a coach to the corner, with a bookshelf, and a window overlooking the back of the building. Brooke had stood admiring the scenery, as it was beautiful. There was a tiny clear blue lake, with a huge tree, and a small dock that stretched towards the lake. She was defiantly going to be going there sometime during her lunch break. She couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before.

The only one problem was that there was an adjoining door to get into the next room, and that room was none other than Tim Smith's office. Brooke wondered why they gave him such a nice office when he really didn't do any work.

Haley had informed her that there were going to be 15 floors in the hotel, and she wanted each floor to have a different colour scheme, the nicer ones would be at the top, while the ones that weren't as nice were at the bottom. Basically, Brooke had creative control to do what she wanted keeping in mind those things- the one big catch was that her and Lindsey had to agree. The other catch was that Haley, Nathan, and Lucas had power to veto decisions as long as all three of them were in agreement- however that wouldn't be too difficult as Haley and Nathan liked Brooke.

So now, here she was sitting in her office, going through the portfolio and jotting down little ideas, just brainstorming. Everything was blank on the pages except for the measurements of rooms, bathrooms, etc. And Haley wanted Brooke to have her designs for the rooms on the first floor sketched out in three days. It was a bit short notice, but Brooke was fine with that.

Just then, she heard a knock on the door, and without waiting for a reply or any indication that someone was even in the room, the door opened. In walked Lindsey.

She wore a white button up v-neck, with a grey pleated skirt, and a pair of grey boots. Her hair was perfectly curled and there was not a _single_ hair out of place. Brooke suddenly felt her black skinny jeans and her white coloured shirt were inadequate compared to Lindsey's outfit. While her hair was left in it's natural wild curls. She looked nowhere near as dressed up, glamorous, or…sexy as Lindsey looked.

"Hi Bridget," she said, studying her nails and looking kind of bored.  
"It's _Brooke_" she spat, the ignorance in this girl was astounding.  
"Brooke." She rolled her eyes in emphasis. "When do you want to meet to finalize the sketches for the first floor?"  
'How about," Brooke began, an instant smile at her lips and her eyes widening. "you let _me_ take care of the first floor, I'll give you credit and whatnot, but then you won't need to worry about it."

Lindsey stopped staring at her nails, looked up at Brooke with narrow eyes, and put her hands on her hips.

"How about _no_" she walked over to her desk. "Listen, I don't care if you think that I'm not committed or serious about this, but I am. In fact, I am one of LA's top 5 designers, I'm good at it, and that's why Lucas hired me." She informed Brooke, smirkin.

"Oh honey, you probably _are_ good at _it_" she told her, smiling and nodding. "That's exactly why Lucas hired you."

Lindsey gaped and rolled her eyes. "You are _such_ a bitch! Just because Lucas doesn't want you, doesn't mean you can act this way with _me_."

"_I_ ended my marriage to Lucas!" Brooke told her, her voice rising. She didn't need to prove anything to Lindsey, but there was something about the fact that she thought she was god's gift to men that made Brooke want to slap her across the face.

"Whatever," Lindsey told her, turning to leave.

"Oh and don't flatter yourself." Brooke said, as Lindsey turned to face her. "The only reason Lucas hired you was because he wants to sleep with you."

"Well, it's more than I can say for you." Lindsey told her shrugging, before leaving her office.

Brooke was angry, she didn't understand why she even _cared_ what Lindsey said. Or the brunette's need to come out on top when it came to the two of them working together, and even their appearances. There was just something about the way that Lindsey was smug that pushed her buttons.

xxxxx

"Hello, Haley James speaking," Haley said in her cheerful voice as she pressed the speak button on her office phone and lifted the receiver.

"Hales.." Lucas began, but Haley immediately cut him off.

"Lucas, what part of _don't_ talk to me do you not understand!?" Haley said furiously into the phone. "There's a _reason_ I'm ignoring your calls on my cell phone!"

"Haley, I do not understand why you're mad at me! If anyone should be mad it should be _me_, you hired my ex-wife!" Lucas retorted, and Haley began to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing. That's just the first time I've ever heard you refer to her as your ex-wife." Haley said, slightly amused. "Anyways, don't even try and turn this around on me, I already apologized for what I thought I needed to apologize for."

"Can we please just not fight Hales? It seems like it's all we ever do now." Lucas said, he was tired beyond belief and he needed his best friend right now.

Haley was the one person Lucas felt like he could talk to, but in the past few months he hadn't even been able to talk to her, and he felt that even though things weren't wrong, they weren't completely right either. He felt their friendship becoming one of those on the surface friendships, he hadn't been able to confine in her about anything for a long time, and although he hated to admit it, he really missed having her. He just hated being dependant on someone, but he needed at least _one_ person he could talk to.

"Can you please stop being a jack ass? Because it seems like it's all _you've_ been doing, and it's why all _we_ do is fight!" Haley pleaded.

"I just wanted a real professionals opinion, Lindsey seemed like the right woman for the job." Lucas lied, trying to defend himself.

"Don't even try lying to me; I know why you did it. To be honest, I looked at Lindsey's resume and I have to say it is quite impressive, but you should've _talked_ to me about it before doing it." Haley tried to explain her point of view to her hard headed best friend.

"Okay, fine so a _small_ part of me did want to piss off Brooke." He admitted, grinning through the phone, and Haley could sense it. "Congratulations, by the way."

"Congratulations?" Haley asked, puzzled.

"About the baby, Nathan told me this morning." Lucas told her.

"Damn it, I forgot to tell Nathan not to tell you, _I_ wanted to tell you! I was going to later today when all this was figured out. You're not pissed, are you?" Haley asked.

"No worries, I'm actually pretty excited." Lucas admitted. "But take it easy, I don't want you working too hard."

"Nathan and Brooke said the same thing," Haley chuckled.

"Since when are you and _Brooke_ all buddy-buddy?" Lucas asked; an obvious disapproving tone in his voice that Haley chose to ignore.  
"I'm not going to lie, we've started hanging out amidst all of this designer stuff, and she's actually lots of fun, Lucas." Haley told him.

"But _Brooke_?" he groaned.

"I'm not going to apologize for being friends with her." Haley told him laugh, but the message was stern. "Anyways, I've got to go, you meeting Nathan and I for dinner tonight?"

"Yup," he replied. "Bye Hales."

"Bye Luke."

xxxxx

Brooke entered the apartment, putting her stuff on the counter in the kitchen, and grabbing her phone out of her bag to give Peyton a call, and see if she and Rachel wanted to have dinner tonight. The trio hadn't spent time with each other in forever, and Brooke missed them. She also had so much to fill them in on.

But before she could dial Peyton's number, the house phone began to ring, and Brooke rushed to the other side of the kitchen and grabbed a hold of it.

"Hello?" Brooke said into the phone.  
"Brooke! Sweetie, I've been trying to get in contact with you for a few days now. Hasn't Peyton told you about me calling?" her mother asked, leaping right into the conversation, true Victoria Davis style.  
"No mum, I've been busy with work, but I meant to call you last week, sorry." Brooke told her, wondering why she sounded so frantic.  
"I was having lunch with Karen Scott a few days back, and she just so _graciously_ decided to let me know that Lucas and co. were in Italy!" Brooke could sense her mother rolling her eyes on the other end of the phone. "How are you holding up, sweetheart?"  
"Mom, I'm fine. I'm actually working as the decorator for the new hotel." She informed her mother.  
"Oh dear lord! Brooke, do you _ever_ think about what other people will say?" Victoria questioned. "When they find out you are working for your ex-husband's company, decorating their hotels?"  
'It's _not_ a big deal, I'm working with Haley and Nathan, I barely see Lucas." Brooke informed her mother, lying a little bit, but she didn't need Victoria Davis freaking out.

Brooke had long gotten used to her mother's personality. Victoria Davis lived, breathed, and prided herself for being a part of Tree Hill's tight upper class circle. Her life was filled with debutante balls, organizing charity dinners and galas, and making sure that the Davis family name was impeccably clean and polished. What other people thought was _all_ that mattered to Victoria, and Brooke had long gotten used to it. In fact, Brooke had been just like her mother before she moved to Italy, she understood how it felt. It was as though you were trapped and you had to be just like all of them, or you weren't good enough, you were below them.

She hadn't even realized what she was missing out on until she had run off to Italy, where she was free to be whoever she wanted to be, no one was judging her, nothing was holding her back.

"Well, just be careful, don't do anything stupid." Victoria told her, in one more disapproving tone.  
"Hmm, okay mother." Brooke laughed, shaking her head.  
'I'll call you sometime this week, your father and I have got to head out, he says he loves you by the way. Keith just landed a major deal and Jules is throwing him a party. God, that woman is just ridiculous, and you would _not_ believe the dress she wore to the annual Spring Musical! Her breast were just popping out.." she started.  
"Okay, mom, I'll talk to you later. Tell dad I love him too." Brooke told her, before hanging up.

xxxxx


	17. I'll Keep Your Memory Vague

_I'll keep your memory vague  
So you won't feel bad about me  
I'll say the things that you said  
Sometimes so it reminds me  
-Finger Eleven_

xxxxx

"So then I grabbed that dress and told that bitch off!" Rachel went on about her encounter with a woman while shopping that morning.  
"You are too much sometimes," Peyton said, as Haley and Brooke laughed.

Brooke, Peyton, and Rachel had been having breakfast with Robert at Deb's when they had decided to have a sleepover, because between Rachel's endless chain of dates, Brooke's new project, and Jake, the three of them hadn't spent time together in what felt like years. Brooke had had the idea of inviting Haley, and although Rachel and Peyton were both a bit skeptical about their friend getting so close with the younger Scott's wife, they eventually agreed to it.

Now, they were all lying around in their pajamas, eating ice cream and anything else fattening that they could find in Brooke and Peyton's kitchen, knowing that they would regret it the next morning when they woke up five pounds heavier. Rachel and Peyton had also had quite a bit to drink, while Brooke had only had a few sips and Haley of course, being pregnant, had no alcoholic beverages.

"So what's Nathan doing tonight?" Brooke asked.  
"He's out with the guys, he's been spending all his time working lately and I convinced him that since I was staying at your place, it would be nice for him to go out with Lucas and the guys for a change." Haley told them.  
"You better keep a tight leash on him, if anything Lucas is teaching him how to get a girl in the sack without saying five words to her." Rachel told her bluntly, winking.  
"Rachel!" Brooke laughed, shaking her head. "Nathan would never do that, he's not a _dog_ like Lucas." she rolled her eyes at the thought of her ex- husband.  
"What's so dog like about having sex?" Rachel asked, seeming completely serious, while the other three girls just laughed.  
"Not everyone is like _you_ Rachel," Peyton playfully rolled her eyes.  
"Well maybe they should be! We wouldn't be labelled as sluts if we slept around if there were enough of us, plus what's wrong with a little pleasure?" Rachel asked.  
Brooke laughed, while Peyton and Haley only shrugged.  
"Peyton, you and Jake have been together what...2 weeks now? How many times have you done it?" That was Rachel for you, completely straight forward.  
"Ummm, not that I'm counting or anything, but 10ish?" Peyton said sheepishly.  
"Peyton! You told me you only slept with him _once_." Brooke gasped.  
"Well, it was just sort of a weird question to ask.." Peyton replied, shrugging her shoulders.  
"See, atleast she's getting it from somewhere!" Rachel looked at Brooke pointedly.  
"It's just because they're still in the honeymoon stages! It'll fade." Brooke bit back, rolling her eyes and taking another bite of her mint chocolate chip ice cream.  
"How about you Haley? You and Nathan are married, how often do you get it on?" Rachel asked.  
"Well, it depends, but usually a few times a week," Haley smirked, as all three girls laughed!  
"I was _not_ expecting that." Rachel told her, taking a sip of her beer, while Haley just laughed and shrugged.  
"So it looks like Brooke is the only one that isn't getting some right now," Rachel laughed, hitting Brooke playfully.  
"When _was_ the last time you had sex, Brooke?" Peyton asked.  
"It's been a while." Brooke said quickly. "So, we've got Mean Girls and 10 things I hate about you, which one do you guys want to watch next?"  
But Rachel was quick, taking the movies from Brooke's hands and throwing them to the other side of the living room that the girls were sprawled across.  
"What's a while?" Rachel asked, as Peyton and Haley waited patiently for her answer.  
"Well, a really long time, I can't even remember." The brunette told the redhead.  
"Was it with _Lucas?_" Rachel inquired.  
"Well, yeah." Brooke said, fidgeting with her fingers.  
"Seriously?! I mean I knew you didn't have sex regularly but I had no idea it had been _that_ long!" Rachel said, she was shocked.  
"Wow...that's a _long_ time." Haley laughed, clearly feeling awkward, while Peyton just shook her head and laughed, burying her hands in her eyes.  
"So...how was he?" Rachel asked curiously.  
"He was okay." Brooke shrugged it off. "Now about the movie…"  
"Give us details woman! Did he go slowly, was he rough? Because he looks like the rough type." Rachel thought out loud.  
"Defiantly the rough type." Peyton added in.  
"Uh, well to be honest we didn't go all the way..." Brooke said sheepishly.  
"What do you mean?" Peyton asked.  
"Well…we did _sort_ of have sex, but not _actually_" the brunette told her girlfriends.  
"Did he...?" Haley began, but laughed and widened her eyes at her own question.  
"It never actually got that far," Brooke cringed.  
"What!?!?" Rachel almost screamed, falling off her place on the couch. "So what did you two….OH."  
"Yeah..." Brooke replied.  
"So you…went down on him? Oh gosh" Peyton began to laugh, not believing that she was hearing this for the first time from her _best friend_.  
"NO! Of course not Peyton!" Brooke rolled her eyes as her cheeks turned a scarlet tone.  
"So he went down on you?" Haley joined Peyton in her fit of giggles.  
"Yes! It was once and it was fast and we stopped it before it turned into anything more," Brooke said, folding her arms across her chest.  
"_Why?_" Rachel asked.  
"Because it was weird, it wasn't what I wanted my first time to be like," she began to explain, but Rachel cut her off.  
"What? You mean you're still a _virgin_?" Rachel asked, her eyes wider than thought humanly possible. Haley and Peyton perked up too.  
"Brooke, I can't believe you _never_ told me this. You told me you and Lucas had sex!" Peyton said, an amused expression on her face.  
"Oral...sex?" Brooke tried, but Peyton just shook her head and continued laughing.  
"Oh my goodness, you are a virgin! A VIRGIN!" Rachel could not stop laughing.  
"Wow. I mean Lucas and I just don't talk about that stuff, but I always assumed you guys were. Well, you know." Haley said, holding a hand to her stomach and shaking her head in amusement.  
"Everything okay, Hales?" Brooke asked, noticing the little flinch in her ex sister-in- law's eyes.  
"Yeah, my stomach just hurts a bit, probably from all the pizza," Haley smiled.  
"I can't believe you've never had sex," Rachel said, and Brooke rolled her eyes, but the redhead continued. "You have no idea what you are missing out on."  
"Believe me; I'm not spending my days crying over it." Brooke said.  
"But don't you just ever want someone to ravish you?" Haley asked, catching Brooke off guard. "To make you feel like you are the most important woman in the world and nobody else even holds a candle in comparison?"  
"Well..." she began.  
"And to just kiss the living daylights out of you, like they never want to let you go?" Peyton said, touching her neck.  
"Okay, the alcohol must be getting to you P. Sawyer; I don't want some barbaric man who thinks I'm his property." Brooke told her best friend.  
"That's not what it is though," Peyton replied, shrugging her shoulders.  
"It's just the entire thing, I guess. It's one of those things you don't understand until you experience it," Rachel told her.  
"Okay, can we just move on?" Brooke demanded, rolling her eyes. "I don't feel like talking about this right now.

The three girls exchanged looks, but complied with the brunette as they popped in the next movie and continued to chat.

xxxxx

"I don't think I've seen him this drunk, well…ever." Jake said, as he watched Nathan dancing atop a bar, completely oblivious to the bartender trying to pull him off, or the crowd of people cheering him on.  
"It's great!" Tim said excitedly from behind them, while the others just looked at him.  
"He does need to loosen up; he's been working his butt off these past few weeks and needs some r&r." Skills said.  
_I'd hardly classify leaving the office at 11 pm every night working his ass off, _Lucas thought to himself, rolling his eyes inwardly.  
"I think it's time to get him home," Jake said, as Nathan began to unbutton his shirt.  
"You guys take him home; I'll walk Lindsey back to her hotel and meet you guys there in a little while," Lucas told them, his eyes shooting across the room to where Lindsey was getting a drink. The guys laughed knowing that Lucas would not be back tonight.

As soon as Lucas had made sure Skills, Jake, Tim, and a passed out Nathan were safely in the limo that would take them back to the hotel, he made his way back into the club and over to Lindsey.

"Sorry, Nathan went a little overboard so I was making sure the guys got him home." Lucas told her with a playful smirk at his lips.  
"Oh, no worries," Lindsey licked her lip, placing a hand on his thigh. "Thanks for inviting me, I had a _great_ time."  
"Thanks for accepting," he replied, but he wasn't really pay attention to her, he hated it, but it bothered him that everyone thought Nathan was working so hard. Lucas was always the one that stayed at the office the latest, and most of the time he would take the work back to the hotel and finish it up there.  
"So," Lindsey said, looking at him through her eyelashes while trying to regain his attention, "what do you say we go back to my hotel room?"  
"I say that sounds pretty good," Lucas told her, realizing that he hadn't been with a woman in almost two weeks, it must've been some sort of new record.

And with that, the two of them left the club, hand-in-hand.

xxxxx

"He didn't completely forget about you, you know." Haley told Brooke.  
"What are you talking about?" Brooke asked, laughing.

Peyton and Rachel had fallen asleep about twenty minute ago, both knocked out cold from all the alcohol, but since Brooke had only had a minimal amount, and Haley hadn't had any, the two of them had decided to stay up and talk. Brooke was cleaning the kitchen, while Haley sat on the stool watching her and drinking some tea.

"Lucas. When you left." Haley replied.  
"I know you're his best friend and all Haley, but let's not pretend he wasn't overjoyed by the fact that I was gone." Brooke said.  
"He wasn't! That's the thing." Haley began, letting out a slight laughing. "First off, he thought you were coming back, and when he realized you weren't, he was just..different."  
"Different as in he slept around ten times more knowing he didn't have to worry about being tied down?" Brooke asked, rolling her eyes.  
"No Brooke, as in he pretty much cut everyone off for a month and locked himself up in the house," Haley told her.  
Brooke stopped with cleaning the floor and looked up at Haley. She processed what Haley had just told her and looked around the floor, before looking back up at Haley.  
"Really?" she asked, biting her lip.  
"Yes Brooke, really." she replied.  
"Well, it doesn't matter now; he probably just realized that there would be nobody he could be-little and take his anger out on," Brooke said, turning back around as she continued to clean the floor, but she couldn't help the slight smile that made its way to her lips.  
"Whatever you say," Haley said from behind her, a knowing smile on her face, but stopped when she felt another sharp pain in her stomach. "My stomach is seriously killing me."  
"Are you _sure_ you're okay?" the brunette turned around and asked for the 5th time that night.  
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I randomly started getting them last night, but I've developed a procedure that makes them stop, I just need to hold my stomach and breathe in and out really deep, and they stop." Haley told a worried Brooke. "See?"

Haley started breathing in and out, but as soon as she reached her thread deep breathe, she screamed out in agonizing pain and almost fell off her chair.  
"Ah, ouch" Haley said bending over and holding her chest, as Brooke spun around the island counter to get to her friend.  
"Haley, what's wrong?" Brooke almost screamed, steadying Haley and getting her off the chair, trying to get her over to the couches where Peyton and Rachel were asleep.  
"Ouch, my stomach, ahhh" Haley almost collapsed on the ground because she couldn't walk any farther, so Brooke helped her down.

The brunette had no idea what to do, she screamed for Peyton and Haley, but neither of the girls could hear her, nor were they in any state to help her.  
"C-call Nate," Haley managed to stay in between gasps.  
Brooke grabbed her phone off the counter and scrolled down until she hit his number and pressed dial. It continued to ring as Brooke tried to sooth Haley, squeezing her arm. But it went to his voice mail and Brooke got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't want to scare Haley, so she quickly dialled Jake's number. Again, no answer. She went through Skills, and even Tim, but none of them answered.  
"Not answering," Haley yelped, as tears came down her cheeks and Brooke almost began crying as well in fear that something terrible would happen.  
"No, Haley I'm so sorry," Brooke began to tear up, knowing that something was clearly going on with the pregnancy right now.  
"Call Lucas," Haley said, shutting her eyes and rocking back and forth quickly.  
Brooke grabbed Haley's purse and pulled out her phone, locating Lucas' number and pressing dial.

xxxxx

Lindsey was a man eater, literally.

Lucas had never seen a girl be so aggressive while making out. She was completely dominant and it only took about two minutes of swapping spit for Lucas to realize that she liked to be on top. Now he flipped her over, and helped her out of her shirt, and she was kissing his neck and about to unbutton his shirt when he felt his phone vibrate, he reached for it, but Lindsey put a hand on his.

"Don't answer it," she mumbled as she licked his ear. Ignoring her, he pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. It was Haley.

"Hello?" he said, knowing that Haley would not be calling him at 2 am if it wasn't something important.  
"Lucas?" he heard a voice that was trying to regain breathe on the other line.  
"Who is this?" he said into the phone, his pulse kicking up slightly.  
"It's Brooke," she said on the other line. "Listen..."  
"Why the hell are you calling me at this time Brooke? Seriously?" he barked into the phone. This had to be the 400th time she had interrupted him while he was just about to get some.  
"Something's wrong with Haley! I don't know what to do, she's been having stomach pains all night but she said she was fine, and now she can barely move and she's basically gasping for breathe…" Brooke replied back into the phone, but instead of her usual angry tone, she sounded absolutely terrified. "I tried calling Nathan, and even Jake or Skills, but none of them are answering…"  
"Give me your address," Lucas cut her off, and Brooke quickly repeated it to him.  
"Where is that?" he asked.  
"It's just three blocks from the office, on 75th and 3rd." she told him, even more urgency in her voice then there had been previously.  
"Okay, I'm only about five minutes from there, get Haley wrapped up in a blanket and come to the front, I'll be there in a few minutes." He told her, waiting for her okay before closing his phone.

He jumped off of Lindsey, grabbing his sweater from the ground and almost ran out the doors.  
"So all Brooke has to do is call and you'll stop _everything_ to go to her?" Lindsey rolled her eyes.  
"Haley's in trouble," Lucas turned around and told her.  
"That doesn't answer my question." Lindsey retaliated.

Lucas didn't reply.

xxxxx

Brooke grabbed a flannel blanket off the couch, and wrapped it around Haley; she put her phone in her bag and helped Haley out the doors and into the elevator.

"Don't worry Hales, Lucas is on his way." Brooke told her friend, running her hand soothingly up and down her arm, as Haley pressed her lips together and tried to hold back a scream.

It didn't take Lucas long at all, he was there in record time and Brooke helped Haley out of the building as Lucas got Haley into the taxi. Brooke got in after her, and Lucas got in on the other side so that they were both surrounding Haley. Brooke told the taxi driver the name of the nearest hospital, and they were on their way.

He wrapped an arm around Haley and whispered into her ear, she let out a little laugh but that only made her stomach hurt more. Brooke shivered and realized that all she was wearing was a tank top and a pair of shorts, there had been no time to change, but she took comfort in the fact that there was somebody else here that she could share the worry about Haley with, even if it was Lucas.

As if on cue, they caught each other's eyes, and for the first time…ever, there was a slight hint of softness in his, even though there was still a frown on his lips. Brooke's mouth was slightly open, and her eyes looked almost...curious, as if they were asking him a question. She held his gaze for a few seconds before looking down, and then found her eyes lingering back over to his eyes. He was still staring at her, his expression unchanged. She bit her lip, a very slight, almost unnoticeable smile at her lips.

They didn't say anything, they didn't need to.

xxxxx


	18. Mona Lisa

"_Get off_ of me Brooke!" Lucas exclaimed for what had to be the fifth time in the past ten minutes, shrugging his shoulder and shaking Brooke awake.

"God, do you have to be an asshole all the time?" she groaned. They had been in the ER for an hour now, and still no news on Haley. Both Brooke and Lucas had been impatiently waiting.

Although Brooke was extremely worried, she couldn't help but drift off to sleep every couple of minutes. She had been working long hours trying to finish all the sketches, and it was almost 3:30 in the morning. Not to mention the fact that she was freezing cold in the heavily air conditioned waiting room in just her shorts and a t- shirt.

"Did you get a hold of Nathan?" Brooke asked him.

"Not yet," Lucas said, fidgeting around with his phone. "He's probably out of it completely, he drank a lot tonight."

"And who's fault is that?" she barked at him, partly because she was tired, and mostly because of her general dislike for him.

Their "moment" in the taxi had lasted all but five seconds until he went back to his regular jerk ways, blaming her for what happened to Haley, calling her immature and stupid and irresponsible.

"I was getting him to lighten up, atleast he's home asleep, not in the emergency room," Lucas bit back.

"For the last time I did_ not_ do this. God, you are so full of sh!t. Honestly Luke." She her arms around herself furiously, shooting daggers at him through her eyes.

"Do _not_ call me Luke. Only my friends can call me that." he told he, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, friends," Brooke laughed sarcastically. "You mean the two guys your mom arranged play date for you with when you were five, and only hang out with you because they have to or they'll lose their jobs?"

Lucas snorted. "Says the girl who's only two friends are an emo and a slut."

"Peyton is _not _emo, and I will have you know, Rachel is all about female empowerment!" she bit back.

"By sleeping with every guy that has a-"

"Excuse me, are you here for Haley James Scott?" asked a man in a thick accent, cutting Lucas off and bringing both Brooke and Lucas up to their feet.

"Yes, we are." Brooke replied, as both her and Lucas awaited anxiously for the doctors verdict. "Is she okay?"

"She'll be fine, it just appears that she is under a lot of stress, way more than anyone should handle, but especially for someone who is pregnant. It is no good for the baby." He explained.

"Oh, my fault eh?" Brooke said, turning to face Lucas. "You're the one that's slave driving her at work."

"_She's_ the one that wants to take on the extra work, so don't try blaming this on me," he barked back.

"This is nobody's fault; she just needs to take some time off. Perhaps get away for a while." The doctor interrupted their argument.

"Gotcha doc. Can I go in and see her now?" Lucas asked.

"She's asleep right now, but once she is awake you two will be informed and can visit her then."

They both returned to their uncomfortable plastic seats in the waiting room, there were only a few people left except for them in there, so Brooke didn't have to worry about making a fool of herself while attempting to use another chair to shift comfortably into place.

Once she was somewhat comfortable, she realized she had goose bumps all over, and that she was literally shaking a little bit. She tried to cover herself with her bag, but then rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. After trying to squeeze her knees into her shorts, unsuccessfully, and putting her arms into her short, she attempted to drift off to sleep.

A few moments later, she felt something being wrapped around her small frame, and opened her eyes to see that it was Lucas' jacket.

"Oh, you don't have to do that-"she began.

"It's obvious you're cold, so just shut up and take it." Lucas muttered, before turning his head to rest his eyes for a bit.

A tiny smile made it's way to Brooke's lips, she couldn't help it.

xxxxx

"We are taking a vacation, no better; we are going back to Tree Hill!" Nathan said for the fifteenth time in the past ten minutes.

"Honey, _calm down_. I'm okay. "Haley replied tiredly.

"I should've realized you had been working way too hard. I mean all the late hours you've been putting in to make sure that Lindsay and Brooke get things off the ground." Nathan continued, pretending she hadn't even said anything.

With the mention of Brooke's name, Lucas looked at her with a smirk, and rolled his eyes. She stuck her tongue out in response, he was so childish.

"It'll be fine now, Nate. I admit I've been a little stressed out lately, but I just have to help Brooke and Lindsey with a few things and then they're set to go, I'll just have to oversee what they are doing." The auburn haired beauty reassured her husband.

"Are you crazy Hales? We're taking a vacation, I'm thinking Sicily, for a week." He took her hand and kissed it, and Haley beamed at him.

"That sounds amazing and all, but what about the designs?" she asked her husband.

"Lucas can take care of them," Nathan suggested, after thinking for a moment before looking at his brother, who groaned loudly in response. Working with Brooke? Nate had to be kidding. But then he looked over at Haley, and for the first time he noticed the dark circles under her eyes, and the fact that her usual smile was replaced with a look of discontentment.

"Yeah, that's cool." Lucas said, nonchalantly. He was completely dreading this, and from the look on Brooke's face, she was too.

"Thank you guys," Haley told them, a huge smile plastered on her face, and Lucas instantly felt better about the decision he had made.

xxxxx


	19. In My Life

Brooke watched sadly as her two best friends packed up their suitcases and began moving to the front foyer to make their way out; Jake was waiting on the coach and occasionally whined about how long they were taking.

She leaned against the frame of the door and crossed her arms.

"I cannot believe you two are leaving me here _alone_." Brooke whined, putting on her best puppy dog face.

"We were invited, a free trip to Sicily? You bet your ass I'm in," Rachel grinned and winked.

"Jake asked me to come, and I'm pretty excited, I think we're finally really starting to move forward with our relationship," Peyton explained, coming over and giving her best friend a big hug. "Behave yourself, missy."

"A whole week though? Can't you guys go for like…two days, and come back?" the brunette asked, already knowing the answer.

"You could've come too, but you have _work_ Brooke." Peyton told her.

"Speaking of that, have fun with _Lucas_. Maybe you can let him feel you up so he feels like he's gotten to second base with you," Rachel winked.

"He already got to second base, thank you very much." Brooke gave her friend a pointed look.

"I'm leaving without you two if you aren't out of there in the next thirty seconds!" Jake exclaimed from out in the living room.

Both girls gave Brooke big hugs.

"The week will fly by, Brooke, and we promise the week after is going to be all about you. So just relax and have some leisure time." They told her, before jetting out the door.

She couldn't blame them for being excited; she would be excited too if she had gotten the chance to go to Sicily for a week, on an all expenses paid trip. Nathan and Haley were going, and Jake and Skills had somehow managed to invite themselves along, when Jake had invited Peyton, Haley suggested she bring Rachel along as well.

So now Brooke was left all alone, with only Lucas and Lindsey. Well not entirely alone, she had Deb, and a few other friends she'd made, but no one that she could call up whenever to hang out. Even more so now, because they would figure out she only called because Rachel and Peyton were out of town.

She decided to take a shower and get dressed; she had an hour and a half left until she was due in hell, aka a meeting with Lucas and Lindsey.

Just as she was grabbing a towel out of the linen closet, her phone began to ring. She wondered who it could be, as their was no caller ID, but answered it anyways.

"Hello?" she said, juggling the phone between her ear and shoulder, as she grabbed a few things from her bedroom.

"Brooke?" said a familiar voice.

"Chris! Hi! How are you?" she asked, genuinely curious as to why he was calling, they hadn't talked since that night, and she was sure that was the last of him she was going to see.

"I'm alright, I'd be significantly better if I got to see you tonight." He replied, as smooth as usual, and Brooke stopped what she was doing and shook her head, laughing.

"Oh, is that so?" she replied, flirting with him a bit.

"Mhmm and it just so happens I'm conveniently playing a gig in Rome tonight. What do you say you come out and see me?" he said, finally almost cutting to the chase. "And maybe we could...go out to dinner afterwards?"

"Well, I am currently looking over my_ insanely_ busy schedule and lucky for you I have nothing planned for tonight," Brooke told him, accepting the date.

"Sweet. Text me your address and I'll pick you up at around seven." He said, before hanging up.

xxxxx

It was 4 pm, and Lucas was an hour late. Lindsey was also no where to be found. This was so [i]ridiculous![/i] Brooke waited anxiously and decided she would wait another five minutes before leaving.

A few minutes later, in marched Lucas and Lindsey, laughing and sipping on their lattés, which Brooke recognized were from Deb's. Which was _her_ coffee shop.

"Where the hell were you guys?" Brooke exclaimed furiously, and for the first time since they had entered the room they noticed that there was actually a third person in their presence.

"Oh...hey Brooke." Lindsay replied, less than enthusiastically. "Sorry, we just got a little sidetracked while grabbing coffee."

"Well the courteous thing to do would have been to call and let me know so I wasn't waiting here for an hour." She replied, rolling her eyes. "Anyways, let's get started, I want to get out of here."

"Why, do you actually have plans or something for once in a blue moon," Lindsey said, laughing at her own joke.

Brooke bit her lip and decided to let it slide. She would just sound like a loser if she began talking about her date with Chris, which might not even really be a date. Plus she didn't care what Lindsey or Lucas thought of her.

So for the next half an hour, Brooke and Lindsey explained their designs, the fabrics, the general idea of every floor, of the bathrooms, of the restaurant, the lobby, everything and anything you could imagine. Once they got the get go from Lucas, they could begin working without supervision. The meeting wouldn't have been completely terrible if it wasn't for Lucas and Lindsey's constantly flirting. He would whisper in her ear and she would giggle uncontrollably and Brooke felt herself wanting to throw up in her mouth, just a little.

"This all looks amazing; you two can go ahead and begin. Amazing job Linds," he said, squeezing her thigh. Brooke held back the urge to make a smart ass comment.

"Okay, I am out of here. This meeting was productive...and nauseating. See you tomorrow, unfortunately." She said, but was sure that they hadn't even heard her, they were practically begging for her to leave so that they could get it on in the conference room.

xxxxx

As Lucas made his way into the lobby of Brooke's apartment, he cursed her silently under his breath for not answering her phone, and for not waiting a few minutes so that she could sign the contract. His parents and more so Haley had given him specific instructions to get the contracts signed and faxed over by the end of the day. Lindsay had signed it, without even reading it. Then again, he had her so completely wrapped around his finger it almost wasn't entertaining.

Lindsey was perfect for him, she was exactly what he needed right now. She liked to have fun, and she wasn't up for attachments. She understood that at the end of the day, they would part ways, but why couldn't they enjoy each other in the mean time?

It was about 6:30, and Lucas still needed to get back to the office, hopefully before his secretary left, so that she could fax the contract, and if not, he would have to do it himself. Then he had to fix the problems with the budget before he could finally take a break.

He couldn't believe Nathan, Skills, and Jake were stupid enough to take a week's vacation at such an important time. Haley, he understood. But that didn't mean the whole clan had to go with them. Jake and Skills should have stayed back to keep working, but Lucas didn't need them, he could do it himself.

He attempted to somewhat fix his tie as he stepped off the elevator and onto Brooke's floor, but really, he didn't care much. It had been a long day and his suit had been rearranged. His tie had been loosened, and his sleeves had been rolled up, it also looked like he hadn't shaved in a few weeks because the stubble was growing back.

He knocked on her door and waited a few moments impatiently before she opened it, a huge smile plastered on her face, until she realized it was him.

"What do you want Lucas?" she said, rolling her eyes, and tilting her head.

"Oh, you're not happy to see me?" he replied, feigning excitement, yet she simply rolled her eyes.

"Can I _help_ you with something?" she asked him again, ignoring his previous question.

"Yes, actually. But why don't you invite me in first."

She slid the door open all the way, and he caught a glimpse of her and realized she was defiantly expecting someone else. How did he know this? Because of the fact that she was wearing a dress far too tight to…just be wearing. It was simple, and black, with short sleeves, and it was short. Her legs looked like they could go on for miles. And he had a strange urge to pick her up, push her against the wall, and wrap those long legs around his waist. He blocked out any and all of those thoughts and turned back to her.

"You forgot to sign the contract after the meeting today," Lucas said, taking it out of the envelope and holding it up.

"Maybe it you hadn't been so busy flirting with Lindsey you could have reminded me," she replied.

"What, are you jealous or something, Davis?" he challenged, a smirk on his face and a gleam in his eyes.

"As if," she replied, rolling her own. "Anyways, just leave it here, I'll read it over and bring it to you tomorrow."

"Well, I actually need it for today." He said, pretending to be apologetic.

She looked over at the clock, and then down at herself.

"Well, now isn't a good time. I have to go out, and I haven't finished getting ready yet." She began.

"All you have to do is sign it. It'll take two seconds." He reasoned with her. "And you look fine to me."

"No, I'm going to read through it. Knowing you there is probably some sort of hidden clause in there. And fine to you is probably hideous to other people, so if there's any way I can do this tomorrow, it would be really convenient." Brooke tried to explain.

"You look _nice_, okay?" Lucas told her, not missing the ever so slight blush that appeared on her cheeks as she avoided his gaze for a few seconds. "And you sign it now, or you don't sign it. I've got all night."

"Well, I don't." she bit back at him.

"Then you should start now." He took the contract out and put it on the table, leaning over the door with his arms crossed infront of him, watching as she hoisted her petite frame onto the tall chair and began reading through the contract.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and although he could hear Brooke telling him she would answer it, he was so close that he got to it first, and was met with the site of a guy who's pants were far too tight.

"Hey," the man said.

"Hi" Lucas replied. Who the hell was this guy?

"Chris!" Brooke appeared beside Lucas, giving the man a hug as she accepted a bouquet of roses from him. "Thank you, these are my favorite!"

_Liar. _Lucas thought. Her favourites were pink tulips, even [i]he[/i] knew that.

"And who would the suit be?" Chris asked, looking towards Lucas.

"Her husband," Lucas replied, hoping to get a reaction out of the guy. "The suit"? Really?

"_Ex_ husband, and it wasn't even a real marriage. Sham. Long, pointless story." Brooke smiled, trying to relieve the awkwardness that had ensued following Lucas' comment.

"So what's he doing here?" Chris smiled, clearly confused.

"We were just discussing getting back together," Lucas replied, again, and Brooke shot him a look as Chris raised his eyebrow.

"Shut up, Lucas." Brooke said shoving him aside. "Sorry about this, Lucas just showed up unexpectedly. We work together, and I forgot to sign a piece of paperwork at our meeting today, and apparently it's important and needs to be done for today. It'll only take a few minutes, do you mind?"

"Not at all." Chris replied, smiling deeply at Brooke, who smiled in return.

Both Chris and Lucas stood and watched Brooke as she grabbed her black framed glasses and read through the contract. Her hair was tousled and it looked completely effortless, even better when Brooke ran her hand through it to hold it back from going into her eyes as she read. Evidently Chris noticed this too, because Lucas saw the other man's eyes wondering up and down over the brunette more than a few times, his eyes filled with desire, and Lucas was annoyed. Even more annoyed because he knew he didn't have any reason to actually be annoyed.

Chris looked at Lucas a couple of times; giving him that stare. The one that Lucas knew meant something along the lines of "back off." But did he really care? No. Because he had had Brooke before Chris ever even came into the picture.

Brooke, who was completely oblivious to the fact that a war without words was going on between Chris and Lucas finished up a few minutes later. Handing the contract back over to Lucas, looking up at him curiously.

"No hidden clause. I'm surprised." She smirked, tilting her head. And she wasn't that close, but close enough for him to see the gloss on her lips, and want to lick it off.

"Really? You _sure_ you read through it properly?" he challenged, tilting his head as well, so that they were facing the same direction.

"Three times. Nice try though." Brooke laughed, winking.

Chris came up behind Brooke and wrapped an arm around her, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Lucas.

"You ready to go babe?" he asked.

"Yep, let's go." She replied.

"I'll just hang out here for a bit, wait until you get back Brookie." Lucas replied suggestively.

Brooke laughed uncomfortably; Chris on the other hand was not amused at all.

xxxxx


End file.
